Fishcake Chronicles
by Hollow King Naruto
Summary: Day by day. Month by month. Life by life. It's all just a game: a game of life, a game of death, a game of the gods, a game of destiny. VideoGame!Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

**Naruto: Fishcake Chronicles **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any videogame for that matter. And I don't own Majin's or Chibi's stories. I'm simply making my own.**

**Welcome to HKN's newest story, the Fishcake Chronicles! This story is quite different from the norm of Naruto fics, but I couldn't resist writing this! I know I have ****A Commander's Creed**** still due, but I wanted to start a new story.**

**I based this off of Majin Hentai X's ****Naruto: Game of the Year Edition**** and Chibi-Reaper's ****Naruto the Videogame****. You'll notice some or a lot of similarities in the beginning and throughout the story but I have my own twists in store to make it my own.**

**So, without further ado, let the games begin!**

**Pun intended.**

Chapter One: Game Over?

XxX Chapter Begin XxX

"**RASENGAN!**"

"**CHIDORI!**"

Massive power exploded in the valley as the two titans clashed their mightiest techniques against each other. A dark sphere formed around them and their quarry, crashing into the statues of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. The statues crumbled to pieces as the globe of power collided with them.

The sphere started to glow white from the core. On the inside, something happened.

A clawed hand pierced one's chest while another clawed hand scratched the other's headband.

The sphere turned blindingly white as it shone with an amazing radiance. As it did, it started to fade and what was left appeared.

A raven-haired boy stood over a blond-haired boy who lay unmoving, a bloody hole in his chest. A scratched headband with a leaf insignia lay fallen next to the blond, belonging to the raven-haired boy.

"Looks like you couldn't bring me back… Naruto." Sasuke said, his voice a mixture of regret, sadness, and yet, with a sense of moving.

For once, he didn't refer to him insultingly, in respect to his friend and for the dead. He turned, looking out towards Otogakure before limping towards it. "I'll see you later… on the other side. After I've killed Itachi."

Naruto lay on the destroyed ground, not breathing as his teacher soon came by.

Kakashi's eye opened wide as he saw his student's body. A boom sounded throughout the air as it thundered and started to rain. Tears leaked out as he saw his blond student, without pulse, dead.

Pakkun squat next to him, a sad expression on his pug face as he saw Naruto's body. "Kakashi… I'm sorry. With the rain, there's no scent left of Sasuke. And with Naruto dead…"

'_Look's like I've failed another comrade, huh, Minato-sensei? I wish I could say I'm not surprised.'_

"I'm… sorry Naruto. I should've done more to help you… I should've been here to protect you. But I wasn't." He grabbed Naruto's body and carried it back to Konoha to report a failed mission… and a lost comrade.

XxX Somewhere… XxX

"Looks like Sasuke killed me, huh?" Naruto said as he smiled sadly. "Well, looks like that's the end of the road for me." There was nothing but the infinite darkness surrounding him that he saw. "So where am I? Heaven? Hell? An infinite pit of darkness that I've into with no way out?"

All of a sudden, large red words popped out in his face and he screamed and fell on his ass. "What the fuck?"

**Game Over! You Lose!** His eyes widened in shock as he read the words.

A scroll appeared and rolled out in front of him. Words quickly appeared and disappeared as he read them.

**Score:**

**Age: Thirteen; 130 points**

**Jutsus Mastered:**

**Henge; 20 points**

**Orioke; 20 points**

**Kawarimi; 20 points**

**Exercises Mastered:**

**Tree-climbing; 20 points**

**Water-walking; 20 points**

**Kage Bunshin learned; 100 points**

**Kage Bunshin fighting tactics created (2); 50 points**

**Naruto Rendan created; 25 points**

**Naruto Rendan variations created (1); 25 points**

**Rasengan learned; 100 points**

**Toad summons acquired; 150 points**

**Enemies Beaten:**

**Defeated Haku; 100 points**

**Defeated Kiba; 75 points**

**Defeated Neji; 125 points**

**Defeated Gaara; 200 points**

**Defeated Kabuto (1); 150 points**

**Earned precious person: Tsunade; 100 points**

**Avoid capture from Akatsuki (1); 50 points**

**Subtotal: 1350 points**

**Used Kyuubi's chakra (5); -250 points**

**Lost precious person: Haku; -100 points**

**Lost precious person: Sandaime; -300 points**

**Curse Seal given; -125 points**

**Failed preventing Sasuke's defection; -125 points**

**Died in battle; -150 points**

**Killed by Sasuke; -150 points**

**Ignored Hinata; -200 points**

**Broke nindo: Sakura; -400 points**

**Died a virgin; -1000 points**

**Subtotal: -2800 points**

**Total: -1450 points**

**Rating: Pathetic! You suck!**

**Karma: Good: Model hero!**

Naruto's eye twitched in anger at the lost incident of point loss. He lost the most points just because he was _thirteen_ and didn't get laid by then?

"This shit cannot be happening…" he mumbled to himself, repeatedly slamming his head on the now white… whatever he was standing on. "I'm just having a really, really, REALLY bad dream that I died and found out my life is a video game. Or," he said, suddenly straightening up, "I've gone to hell."

Naruto just stood there, his chest suddenly swelling up as he took in a large breath.

"**FUCK!**" he screamed beyond the top of his lungs for what seemed like a minute.

He panted heavily as he pulled at his hair like a madman. "Why, why, why is this happening?"

Fortunately, a response soon came to him… in the form of a set of blocky words that, once again, appeared so suddenly that he screamed quite loudly. "STOP DOING THAT!" he bellowed.

**Continue?** Below the word was two blocks with two options: **Yes** and **No**.

He just stared. "Is this a joke?" The blocks just floated there, waiting for an answer. "Yes?" A tune rang out and the **Yes** block exploded, sending him flying and screaming into the sky.

If he knew what awaited him in the road ahead, he would've chosen **No** in a heartbeat.

XxX

"WAAAAH!" He screamed as he shot through the air, stopping as he burst through some clouds.

"Pffft!" That was the sound of him spitting out clouds. "You birds are lucky I don't go hunting!" he shouted down below. "If I did, you'd all be the first ones I'd roast!" And that was the sound him being an idiot… again. He could have sworn he'd heard some insolent caws as he turned to look in front of him. His eyes widened to comical proportions as he looked before himself.

"Dear Kami…" he whispered. In front of him were four rows of humongous words.

**FISHCAKE CHRONICLES: NARUTO THE VIDEOGAME**

**NEW GAME**

**LOAD GAME**

**OPTIONS**

"What kind of title is that?" he shouted, tic appearing, eyebrow twitching. "Is that some stupid play on my name? And what the hell is a videogame?" He continued to rant.

After continuously ranting for a minute, he stopped. "Let's see… I have three things I can do. What does Sakura call it… oh yeah, deducting on context, or something. 'New Game' means I probably start over… not exactly a good idea, since Kakashi-sensei always says it's not a good idea to rush into things." He thought aloud. "Oh, screw it. It's not like my life can get any worse."

Naruto jumped up and stomped on the block. When he hit it, another two blocks appeared.

**ARE YOU SURE YOU WISH TO START A NEW GAME?**

**YES**

**NO**

Naruto rolled his eyes in exasperation and hit the **YES **block. The block exploded into confetti before the world turned black. Suddenly, a loud booming voice overshadowed everything.

**In the era of ninja, there were many great and powerful ninja. However, there was one truly exceptional ninja who was born on a day of disaster. Naruto Uzumaki was born on the day of the attack of the Kyuubi.**

**This is his story.**

"The hell?" he scowled. "Is somebody narrating my life?"

Before he could crudely ponder anything else, he started shrinking, making him scream. "What the fuck is happening?!"

He was soon baby size and wet. '_I'm turning into a baby?!'_ he thought since he was unable to speak.

Suddenly, he was in the Hokage Tower, watching a beautiful red-haired woman screaming as a blond-haired man was holding her hand, a fire in his eyes. Outside, there were sounds of destruction.

"Kushina, you can do it! You can do it! Push!" the blond man who looked an awful lot like Naruto. '_They… they must be my parents. That means today's the day the Kyuubi attacked!'_

Kushina gave one final scream and Naruto was being pulled towards his body. '_Well, time for take two.'_ That was the last thing he thought before he reentered his body.

"WAAAAAH!" he bawled as he was pulled out from Kushina. Of course, what he tried to say ended up as crying and baby gibberish. What he was trying to say was, "GODDAMN ITS COLD!"

"Minato-sama, it's a boy!" the doctor proclaimed loudly, both he and the newly named Minato with huge smiles as Naruto was being wrapped up in a blanket.

"Kushina, look at baby Naruto! I bet he'll take after daddy in looks! Isn't he a beautiful baby?" he exclaimed excitedly to his tired wife.

"Let… let me… hold him." She panted, weakly holding her arms out. She grabbed him in a soft hug and fell back against the bed, barely able to hold baby Naruto against her. "I'll always love you, Naruto."

'_So this is what it feels like to have a mother love you…' _Naruto thought, stunned as she snuggled up against him.

"Yondaime-sama! The fox is almost here! You must complete the sealing!" the medic shouted.

"Yes I-I have to, for the village." Minato said, choked up in sadness. Kushina's eyes filled with fright.

"No! I… I won't let you take him! I won't let him live such a life!" she screamed. Meanwhile, Naruto was blabbering baby gibberish again.

What he was trying to say was, "MY DAD'S THE YONDAIME! WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME!"

"Kushina, there's no other way. He's the only one that can save the village." Minato said, sadness in his eyes.

Kushina hugged Naruto close to her, tears streaming down from her eyes. "Naruto… you're going to experience a lot of pain and suffering. Remember who you are! Find a goal… a dream… and don't stop trying until it comes true. There's… there's so much more that I want to say… to teach you… I want to stay with you… I love you."

Naruto immediately started crying again as he was taken by Minato, who also had tears streaming down from his eyes. Minato disappeared in a yellow flash before reappearing in midair.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**" he shouted. A large boom of smoke appeared with a massive toad smoking a pipe.

"**Who has summoned me? Minato? What do you need?**" Gamabunta bellowed as he looked at the Yondaime. The aforementioned Hokage grimly pointed at the scene of the Kyuubi tearing apart the village.

"**The Kyuubi? Well then, Minato, if we die, it has been a great ride being your summon. What are you going to do?**"

"I'm going to seal him into my newly born son, Naruto. I'm afraid this is the end of the road for me, Bunta."

"**Alright then, I'll get you close enough to work your magic. Any last words you want me to pass on?**"

Minato had a feral grin. "Yeah, if Ero-sensei neglects his duties as Naruto's godfather," he said, not noticing Naruto's look of shock at the revelation about Jiraiya, "when he dies, he's getting a Rasengan enema." Gamabunta chuckled.

"**You made that lazy perv his godfather? Well, I'm not surprised.**" A roar from the rampaging demon fox returned their attention to the situation at hand. "**Time to slay a demon fox.**" Gamabunta drew his knife before leaping at the fox, ready to stab it.

Meanwhile, Naruto's mind was running a mile a minute. '_The Yondaime's my dad? Ero-sennin's my godfather? Why the fuck didn't anybody tell me about this?'_

"**Now, Minato!**" Gamabunta shouted, struggling to pin the furious Kyuubi. Minato had a fire burn in his eyes before quickly running through some handseals.

"**SHIKI FUUJIN!**" Minato roared. After that, everything grew dark for Naruto as he was pulled into to unconscious.

When Naruto came to, he was inside a cradle, being rocked by a smiling Sarutobi, now newly reinstated as Hokage. At seeing the Sandaime, Naruto was conflicted. On one hand, he was happier than an Akimichi in an all-you-can-eat buffet to see his surrogate grandfather alive. On the other hand, he was furious that Sarutobi hadn't told him who his parents were, and decided to vent that anger.

"WHY DID YOU NEVER TELL ME I WAS THE SON OF THE YONDAIME OR ERO-SENNIN'S GODSON?!" he bawled. '_Then again, if he did, I probably would have yelled it from the top of the Hokage mountain. And I probably would have tripled assassination attempts on me.'_

The old Hokage laughed and patted Naruto's head. "Well, Minato was right. He will have his dad's looks. But he will definitely have his mother's temper."

"And don't forget his godfather's charm." Another voice said, revealed to be a grinning Jiraiya on top of the open window's windowsill.

'_The hell I will. More like his need to go after some ass.'_ Naruto thought, his tiny eyebrow twitching.

"Yes, yes, Naruto will have all of that." Sarutobi chuckled. "By the way, you do realize that Minato will give you hell after death if you don't do your job as his godfather." Jiraiya winced.

"I know, Bunta just told me that if I don't, when I reach heaven, Minato'll give me 'a Rasengan enema'." Both men shuddered at the thought.

"How's Kushina?" Jiraiya asked, fearing the answer slightly. Sarutobi's eyes grew sad at the thought of her. "Dead. She died a while after childbirth."

Jiraiya looked grief-stricken. "I see. Looks like little Naruto will grow up alone." Sarutobi frowned.

"Are you sure you can't take care of him?"

"Sensei, I'm our spymaster. I'm always on the road. That's no life for a child. And I know you'll make sure to take care of him."

The Sandaime sighed and lit his pipe. "True. I'll try my best." They both had a moment of silence in memory of the lives lost before exiting the room to let Naruto sleep.

However, just as they left the room, an ANBU with a Lizard mask appeared and picked up Naruto. "Die, Kyuubi!" they roared as they threw Naruto out the window.

Luckily, the window wasn't shut so it didn't break into numerous glass shards that would have cut apart baby Naru's body. Unluckily, they were at the top of the Hokage Tower. As Naruto flew out the window and fell to his death, a baby's shrieking cries were heard.

One didn't have to be psychic to know he meant to scream, "YOU MOTHERFUCKERRRRR!"

**XxX Chapter End XxX**

**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Fishcake Chronicles. Hopefully I'll have gotten a great amount of reviews. **

**I'm of course praying that I don't catch too much flak from Majin or anybody for my story. Majin, if you're reading this, you're story is amazing. I hope mine is as good as yours.**

**Well, read and review (crossing my fingers for not TOO many flames). Give me your flames, constructive criticism, and compliments. If you like it, tell me.**

**King, signing out.**


	2. You Learn Something Every Life

**Naruto: Fishcake Chronicles: Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any videogame for that matter. And I don't own Majin's or Chibi's stories. I'm simply making my own.**

**Welcome back! I'm your host HKN and I'm bringing YOU, my readers, another chapter of Fishcake Chronicles.**

**But before I do that, it's time to start the **_**Review Response!**_

**Review 1:**

_That was a small chapter but It seems like it will be a good story, but Will need to read more chapters to be sure. :)_

_Guest #1_

**Thanks. I tried to have a bigger one, but I thought for humor's sake, I would end it the way I did.**

**Review 2:**

_I love stories in the style of this, and I would have read this but I saw 'Ignored Hinata; -200 points'which will stop me from reading this. There are too many Hinata/Naruto. They don't even fit well, she's a weak, stalker who's also a fangirl, Naruto's a loud,stupid but strong ninja._

_Guest #2_

**The pairings are UNDECIDED. I put that there both as a future gag and because I thought he was an idiot that he didn't even figure it out her feelings until she hit him over the head with it. And he STILL hasn't responded!**

**Review 3:**

_You do realize that Naruto knows what a video game is. Hell it is in the second Naruto movie Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom, he ask the prince son want game he was playing._

_SuperSaiyan9_

**You do realize that Sasuke defected before that movie? That means Naruto died before that mission. And so I don't think he would know of them before the retrieval. Therefore, he is unknowing of the AWESOMENESS of videogames.**

**Review 4:**

_Well this changes things, ne? I'd bet that Naruto will be giving Jiraiya a Rasengan castration when they finally meett again. :3_

_Jarick_

**He's not that cruel… however, he will do something **_**evil**_**. Keheheheh! **

Chapter Two: You Learn Something Every Life

XxX Chapter Begin XxX

**(**_**Twelve Deaths and 6 Years Later…)**_

"Damn, these guys just won't give up!" Naruto panted as he pressed himself up against an alley wall. "When will they stop trying to skin me alive?"

Indeed, a mob formed of those who were quite spiteful to Naruto. And by spiteful, hateful and 'want to tear that fox brat apart!' is intended.

It really pissed off Naruto to have to be born again and again and repeatedly die again and again. Every time, Lizard ended up killing him.

That evil ANBU always ended up getting him! If he cried out for help from Sarutobi, then Lizard killed him by smothering him with a pillow. Sometimes, Lizard even killed him by attacking him even while Sarutobi was still exiting the door.

Finally, after eleven more deaths, Naruto had had it. So, he continuously wailed so that Sarutobi had to take him to the council meeting for discussing the recent developments and rebuilding the village.

There, Lizard couldn't try to kill him, especially since he was surrounded by several veteran shinobi, all on edge after the Kyuubi attack.

Of course, the shinobi council, made up of the Elders and the Clan Heads, and the newly reappointed Sandaime had no idea that little baby Naruto, lying right next to Sarutobi on the table, could understand everything that was being said.

Of course, he learned a few dirty secrets.

Apparently, the Sandaime made a law about not letting anybody talk about the Nine-Tails' sealing around Naruto. Capital punishment would be dealt to those who did.

No wonder everybody but he knew about the fox!

However, something brought up shocked him, shocked him even more than all the recent events.

_XxX Flashback XxX_

"_What exactly are you implying, honorable elders?" nearly growled Fugaku Uchiha as he was gripping the table hard enough to turn his knuckles white._

"_Exactly as you think, Uchiha-san." Danzo coldly replied. "The Sharingan has the capability to control the Kyuubi. Madara Uchiha already proved that when he created the Valley of the End. Who's to say that wasn't the case this time?"_

"_You're saying my clan unleashed the fox on Konoha?" Fugaku shouted. Naruto let out gasp at what was being said. Somebody used the Sharingan to control Fuzzbutt? The fox could be CONTROLLED?_

"_I'm saying it's a possibility. However, we are shinobi and our village hasn't survived by not dealing with treason or otherwise."_

"_This is insanity! My clan and I will not stand for such insults upon our honor! We serve Konoha!" _

"_And maybe, you want Konoha to serve you." Danzo interjected. A hush of gasps rose from the council._

"_Enough of this!" Sarutobi shouted. "Danzo, I will not tolerate you harassing one of our clan heads. However, I will acknowledge that there is a possibility that the Kyuubi's attempt to raze our village was no mere random occurrence. Fugaku," Sarutobi gently said at the end, "perhaps it would be better for your clan to… relocate your compound to a different part of Konoha. I will immediately have the land allocated."_

_Fugaku's eyes were filled with a fiery anger, not unlike Sasuke's, as he stiffly left. "Yes, Hokage-__**sama**__." He spat at the end._

_XxX Flashback End XxX_

Damn, that old bandaged fogey was a douche! He wanted to turn Naruto into a weapon! And so Naruto made a mental note never to let the geezer be stuck in the same room as himself.

Still, it was quite troubling. Did this have to do with the massacre-?

"Holy shit!" Naruto shouted. "I completely forgot! I can save Sasuke! And if I do, then he probably won't be such a asshole!"

Of course, Naruto had completely forgotten about the horde of vengeful Konoha citizens.

"Hey! I think I heard the fox brat in that alley! Get him!" Shouts drew closer as villagers with various weapons started approaching.

'_Stupid! Alright, check my escape options.' _Naruto looked around and found no way to run. '_Shit! I'll have to take a dumpster dive!'_

Fast as he could, Naruto jumped into the open dumpster and quickly closed it shut to hide.

'_Blegh! Its even worse than the smell from the Inuzuka kennels!'_ Naruto thought furiously.

"Where are you brat? You can't hide forever!" Many shouts came similar to that one, but eventually they started to fade away. Naruto quickly thanked the heavens for the nearby dumpster, but then he saw something odd.

In the dumpster, there was a floating, glowing fishcake.

Of course, Naruto had to touch it out of curiosity.

Bad idea.

**Strength increase! +2!**

The words popped out at him like a weasel from hell. And like all other times, Naruto had a response.

He screamed.

His head slammed into the dumpster lid as he jumped away screaming. As he landed from his jump, he clutched his head, swearing about the pain.

"Motherfucker! That hurts so much!" He shouted. Then he noticed something else. The small arms he used to hold his head looked slightly more… muscular. Despite slamming his head, he felt quite good.

"What the… did that power me up or something?" Before he could ponder the power-up, he once again forgot that he was on the run.

"There he is! In the dumpster!" War cries arose from fast approaching crowd. "Time to die, brat!"

"Gotta run, gotta run!" he shouted, as he charged out of the alley. Another great chase began as Naruto ran through the village for dear life.

XxX 1 hour later… XxX

"Hah… hah… please… before you maim me… let me just pause and catch my breath." Naruto panted, not even realizing that he had left the crowd behind a while ago.

That didn't matter because the world had frozen over; nothing seemed to be moving. Suddenly, everything turned black and white, and finally, words appeared that didn't scare Naruto.

**Congratulations! You Have Unlocked A Secret! When you say Pause, everything stops. Time, life, everything. Use it to assess your surroundings or take a breather!**

Then, the black and white faded away. Everything was in color, but nothing moved.

"Whoa. I… can control time!" Naruto pumped his fist, "This is reaching new levels of coolness! Now," he said, starting to frown, "how to stop this? Err… unpause?"

Everything started moving again. But when it did, something bumped into Naruto. "Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry, teme." Naruto said reflexively when he saw the hair… shaped like a ducks… ass?

"Who are you callin' teme?" Sasuke shouted as he grabbed Naruto by the collar.

"You, with hair shaped like a duck's butt!" Naruto retorted. Inside, he was filled with turmoil. Was that Sasuke? More importantly, was that a non-emo Sasuke?

"Do you know who I am?" the raven-haired boy fumed.

"If you say 'Uchiha', you are getting your ass whooped. They piss me off, trying to beat me on daily basis." Naruto growled. "I mean, they even tried to get me when I was having my ramen! The heathens…" he grumbled, having gone off on a tangent.

Sasuke didn't know whether to face palm from Naruto's stupidity or punch out Naruto for the slander about his clan. In the end, he did neither, in favor of asking him a question.

"Why would my clan try to beat you up?"

Naruto froze; trying to think of a reason he could give. He couldn't say Kyuubi, even if it was the truth.

"Ehehe, w-well, I kinda pull pranks and the Uchiha maaaaaay have caught in the crossfire of some?"

"What pranks are you talking about?" Sasuke asked slowly, urge to kill Naruto rising for some reason.

"Well… I-dyed-the-Hyuuga-and-Uchiha-clothes-pink." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Before he could say more, Sasuke jumped at him, raining fists of Uchiha fury.

"That was you! I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!" The two brawled in the streets, drawing a crowd, before they tied, both panting heavily.

XxX 5 minutes later… XxX

"So what's your name?" Sasuke said, right before having some of his miso ramen.

SLURP! Naruto quickly finished his bowl of noodles and, at the same time, winced from a bruise. Sasuke had a mean right hook, even as a six year old. "The name's Naruto Uzumaki, your future Hokage! Believe it!" he shouted.

Sasuke snorted with laughter. "You can't be Hokage with such a crappy catchphrase. And besides, what makes you think _you'll_ become Hokage?"

Sasuke had seen many fires, many created by his clansmen, but this fire was something special. A fire burned in Naruto's eyes with conviction. "Because I know what it is to be Hokage. And I won't give up, and won't die – not until I've become the greatest Hokage ever."

For a moment, Sasuke had respect for Naruto's determination, his conviction, and his drive. Then that all came crashing down when Naruto smirked and eyed him, saying, "Of course, not everyone knows. I doubt you do."

"Just you wait and watch! Sasuke Uchiha will be the first Uchiha that's Hokage!"

"Really? Then tell me, oh great Uchiha, what does it mean to be Hokage?"

Sasuke paused and thought. What _did _it mean? It certainly meant being powerful and respected. But what else?

"It means to be the strongest in the village." Sasuke slowly said. "It means to be the one that everyone can rely on."

"Not exactly, teme! Find me when you figure out. Oh, but before I go," Naruto paused to slap a few ryo on the counter for his pile of ramen bowls, "wanna be friends?"

Sasuke went slightly wide-eyed before answering, "Sure!"

"Great! See you around, Sasuke-teme." He walked off, before hearing an exclamation from another mob about his whereabouts. "Oh, not this again!" He ran off, leaving Sasuke with his thoughts.

'_Maybe I should ask Itachi-niisan?'_

XxX

'_If I was being chased by an angry mob, for reasons I have no clue about, where would I hide? The places I'd least likely be. Now, where's that…?'_

When the crowd had turned the corner Naruto had turned, they didn't see him. All they saw were some apartment buildings and the library, along with the street headed to the market. The brat must have gone there! He thought he could escape them in the crowd, but boy would he be wrong!

XxX

"Heh, they'll never find me here," Naruto whispered among the shelves of books and scrolls. It was the first time in all his lives that he had been here. So he couldn't help but be curious about what kinds of books were in the library.

"What the hell is this?" he said, picking out a slightly dusty, thick book. "Chemistry?"

He opened up the first page and saw a fishcake. "Huh. Another one of those power-ups." He grabbed it and words appeared in front of him.

**Intelligence increase! +1!**

"You know I think I actually felt smarter!" Naruto whispered excitedly to himself. He flipped through about thirty pages before he saw another fishcake. "What the…?"

**Intelligence increase! +2!**

"Again? Well, might as well see if there are anymore." He kept flipping through the pages of the book, finding more and more power-ups.

**Intelligence increase! +4!**

**Intelligence increase! +7!**

**Strength increase! +3!**

**Perception increase! +2!**

**Bonus: Poison skill! +3!**

**Intelligence increase! +10!**

"Is this for real…?" Naruto's eye was twitching. He was getting much more power-ups all because he actually looked through a _book_? Was someone up there making fun of him for his lack of an education?

He checked the last two pages with power-ups. The poison bonus came from a page titled, 'Chemical Reactions Between Reactive Elements', which made virtually no sense to him and the highest intelligence bonus came from a page that he had no clue about. Something about bonds…?

"Maybe this is how jiji became so strong. My ass, he's called 'The Professor' for anything other than this." Naruto put the book away before picking out a random scroll.

"The Beliefs Of Fire Monks? There's a god out there? We have _religion_?" Nobody had believed in religion as a ninja, as they had only faith in their skills. So, Naruto had assumed no one else believed in a higher power. That didn't seem to be the case, judging by the fact that he life was an endless game and by the title of the scroll.

However, before he could open it, giant words appeared in front of him and the world froze.

**CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE UNLOCKED BELIEFS! BY UNLOCKING BELIEFS, YOU MAY CHOOSE WHICH HIGHER POWER'S BELIEFS YOU WILL FOLLOW. FOLLOWING BELIEFS WILL HAVE BONUSES AND BY DOING QUESTS FOR YOUR SOVEREIGN, YOU CAN UNLOCK ACHIEVEMENTS, PERMANENT BONUSES, AND EVEN POWERFUL ITEMS AND TECHNIQUES!**

**CHOOSE YOUR BELIEF**

"Wow, so there is a god! Or multiple! Show me all my choices!"

**BIJUU**

**DEMONS**

**KAMIS**

**HUMANS**

"…Holy shit. The fox is a GOD?" Naruto quickly hammered 'Bijuu' before his choices were listed. He felt as if he was falling in an endless pit as he read them.

**SHUKAKU, THE ICHIBI**

"That crazy tanuki is a god as well?" Naruto shouted in shock.

**MATATABI, THE NIBI**

**ISOBU, THE SANBI**

**SON GOKU, THE YONBI**

**KOKUO, THE GOBI**

**SAIKEN, THE ROKUBI**

**CHOMEI, THE NANABI**

**GYUKI, THE HACHIBI**

"Are those their names?" Naruto asked himself. "Then the fox…?"

**KURAMA, THE KYUUBI**

"…Kurama? That's… kind of normal. Still, people worship the fox? Show me what he preaches!"

**Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox. Kurama enjoys sacrifice in his name and crushing mortals with an immutable passion. Kurama is the strongest of the nine Bijuu and has the ability to sense negative emotions. Wherever malice festers, Kurama will be there. Should one choose to worship Kurama, great boons shall be granted. However, Kurama's beliefs include killing whenever possible, especially gruesomely, and hates the Uchiha, Shodaime Hokage, and Yondaime Hokage with a passion.**

**Permanent Bonuses:**

**Strength: +5**

**Intelligence: +5**

**Perception: +4**

**Endurance: +7**

**Chakra: +8**

**Bonus: Control of Kyuubi's Chakra: +2**

**Bonus: Regeneration: +4**

Anything else he was about to say was choked off as the color was drained from his face after reading the fox's beliefs. "Well, his love of death isn't a surprise. But why does he hate the Uchiha?" Before he could think anymore, Naruto's eyes widened to great proportions and his jaw dropped. Even more color drained from his face when he read the last choice.

**THE JUUBI**

"…This can't be happening. No, no, no, NO! There CANNOT be something more powerful than the furball out there! That should be physically impossible!"

"**Nothing is impossible, fleshbag.**"

"Kyuubi?" Naruto asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach as he was side by side with the fox.

"**Who else would it be, fool? Do you expect anyone else?**"

"Forget that, how is there a Ten-Tails?"

Kurama growled. "**Did you expect that we came from nowhere? The Juubi is our Progenitor.**"

Naruto's face scrunched up as he tried to understand. "Progeni-what?"

The Kyuubi chuckled darkly, immensely about to enjoy the look on Naruto's face. "**The Juubi is the original Bijuu, idiot. Its power was separated into us, the nine Bijuu. Juubi was as strong as all of us **_**combined.**_"

Naruto froze in fright. Something more powerful than the fox? But wait, he said that it was divided! "Who cut up the Juubi?"

Something on the fox's face suggested nostalgia before it snarled. "**Figure it out, fleshbag. I merely woke up to inform you of our situation.**" Kurama looked up, as if trying to find something, "**It appears that when your pathetic self was set to die at the hands of the Uchiha, we no longer became bound by your fate. Some upper immortal decided to take matters into their own hands and plunged us into this game.**"

The fox turned its baleful, red eye on Naruto. "**It seems we have a fate much greater than your death and thus, they have turned this life of ours into a game. Then when you died the last few times, you were reborn and from the same point. That doesn't happen. It can happen once or twice but not thirteen times. There are more immortals at work here and we have to get past them.**"

"Why would I want to do that? I'm immortal as I am." Naruto said.

"**True, but once you have lived your life, would you want to reborn as a pathetic, weak, young fleshling and live everything again?**"

"When you put it like that…" Naruto realized, paling.

"**Yes, it is very unappealing. Therefore, I have come to the decision that we must…**" the fox grumbled, voice getting quieter.

"Must what?"

"**We must work together…**" Kurama's voice was nearly undetectable at this point and Naruto grinned.

"So, the almightly Kurama needs my help?"

That was a bad idea.

"**YOU HAVE NOT EARNED THE RIGHT TO USE MY NAME! ONLY THE SAGE OF SIX PATHS AND MY KIND HAVE! AND I ONLY OFFER MY POWER BECAUSE YOU WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT ME!**" Kurama roared, a wave of its power slamming Naruto against the walls of his subconscious.

"**Leave at once. You sicken me.**" Before Naruto could retort, he was forcefully ejected from the sewer and he resumed looking the beliefs screen.

"Damn, the fox is sore about his name." Naruto exited the Bijuu screen before looking at the page of 'Humans'.

**HASHIRAMA SENJU**

**MINATO NAMIKAZE**

**MADARA UCHIHA**

"Lets see, the first Hokage, my," Naruto paused, looking slightly sick, "dad, and some Uchiha. Anyone else?"

**SAGE OF THE SIX PATHS**

"That's the guy Kyuubi was talking about?" He hammered it the block and more words appeared.

**The Sage of Six Paths. Hailed as the Savior of the World, he strove to bring peace to the world of ninja. He was the creator of ninjutsu and defeated the Juubi before sealing it away in himself, becoming the first Jinchuuriki. He was a god, with the power of the greatest of doujutsus, the Rinnegan, and the power of the Juubi in him. When death came, he separated the power of the Juubi into the nine Bijuu. To ensure the return of the Juubi wouldn't happen, he sealed away the Juubi's body by creating the moon.**

**When he was on his deathbed, he entrusted the future of peace to his sons, the original Uchiha and Senju.**

**Permanent Bonuses locked until Greater Connection established.**

**Beliefs include: Your goal will be to achieve peace in the world of ninja.**

**BELIEF UNLOCKED. WOULD YOU LIKE TO ALLIGN YOURSELF WITH THE SAGE OF THE SIX PATHS?**

**YES**

**NO**

"…Holy crap." Naruto breathed. The guy who created ninjutsu? Who defeated the thing even more powerful than the fox? Who he thought he could grow to be like?

Hell yes.

Naruto tried to destroy the Yes button and soon, more words appeared.

**BELIEF ESTABLISHED. LESSER CONNECTION ESTABLISHED. YOU MAY RECEIVE QUESTS TO ACHIEVE GREATER CONNECTION TO SOVEREIGN AND MORE BONUSES. SUCCESS WILL ACHIEVE GREATER POWER-UPS.**

The world unfroze and Naruto was left leaving the library with more information than he had ever thought he would gain in there.

XxX

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Naruto woke up on a day he dreaded all too well.

The Uchiha Massacre.

It had been two years since Naruto met Sasuke. In those two years, they had become friends despite what many thought with all their arguing. In that time, Naruto had definitely managed to corrupt Sasuke, if only a little bit.

Like Naruto, Sasuke had a _slight_ case of PFD. PFD, of course, meant Pranking Fiend Disorder.

He didn't do pranks very often, but the times he did, he hit people quite hard.

When a bully claimed the playground that Sasuke wanted to play in, he merely backed away. And, to Naruto's malicious glee, he began planning a prank.

Sasuke didn't like being denied his happiness.

On the fateful of the Monkey Debacle, Sasuke came up to the bully with a bet. Whoever could climb across the Bars would win a bag of tomatoes. And as a show of good faith to the bully's (predicted) skepticism, Sasuke gave him a tomato in advance, an evil glint in his eyes. The hungry bully immediately (predictably) ate it right away before accepting the challenge.

Sasuke quickly fell off the Bars of The Monkey, all the while smirking. When the bully won, Sasuke quickly ran to get his bag of tomatoes he purchased in advance.

Of course, Sasuke had to say something to arouse the suspicion that the tomatoes may not be ripe. The bully (as planned), peered inside the bag.

The sack exploded.

When Sasuke bought the bag, he also bought some small, yet reliable, cherry bombs. He stuck them right under green bud.

The boy had gotten tomato all over his face and clothes. He quickly ran home to wash off, but that wasn't the only problem.

He spent the whole night, groaning on the crapper as he dealt with the effects of a strong laxative in the tomato he ate before the challenge.

Sasuke would not be denied.

Anyway, after that incident, nobody messed with Sasuke.

When the two were seven, they were admitted into the academy. Their friendship grew stronger. Naruto, not wanting to change anything, remained the class moron, while, predictably, Sasuke became the class genius.

Soon, they became friends who beat the hell out of each other in spars. Naruto tended to win most of those as he had a lot more experience fighting from his previous lives than Sasuke did.

But anyway, onto the Uchiha Massacre.

When Naruto remembered the massacre, he began to think of a plan that would either kill him and sentence him to a life of being a pooping and threatened baby or leave him alive with more answers than before.

XxX

"Sasuke, wanna hang out at my place after class?" the eight-year old Naruto offered.

"Jeez, I hope you remembered to clean up. I mean, I don't think your ramen was supposed to be in your tub." Sasuke jeered. He had seen the Apartment of Infinite Squalor and he _really_ thought it could use a nice bout of spring-cleaning.

"That was one time!" Naruto protested. He _was _getting late for the Academy, so he had to find out how to cut time. Why not eat and get clean? Apparently, this was the reason why.

"Whatever dobe. We can watch that new movie, Princess Gale, since I know you want too. But you're paying."

"What?! Are you serious? You're loaded, cheapass! Why do _I _have to pay?" Naruto exploded.

"Your movie, your money, dobe. I'd think you were smart enough to realize that."

"And I'd think you'd be smart enough not to piss off the guy who can kick your ass in a fight. What's our record now…?" Naruto said, both menacingly and mockingly.

"27-40, but I can still kick your ass in taijutsu. Plus, who's the guy who keeps flunking all his tests?"

"Ever think I'd want to do that?" Naruto shot back, trying to think of something to excuse his continued lack of aptitude in written exams and throwing weapons. In reality, he still didn't like studying, especially after the crap in the library. Plus, he couldn't find anyone good with weapons. Of course, he could try to find Tenten…

Set that aside for later. Now, time to save face in front of the asshole-heir.

"What, are you even more brain-dead than I thought? You're gonna flunk out on purpose?" Sasuke snorted, though Naruto could detect a small amount of interest in his 'reason'.

"NO! I just… uh… don't want people to know I can do! Yeah, how can I catch people by surprise if they already know how smart I am or how tough I am? After all, there's no affinity better than the element of surprise!" He had actually paid attention this time around as he could _probably _learn something that might make himself stronger.

"Hmm…" Sasuke mused. Inwardly, Naruto smirked. He had bought this crap! Still, he'd have to do better in his training. "That _is_ a good idea. I guess I shouldn't show off my new fire jutsu, huh?"

Naruto had a smirk on his face. "Even if you did, you'd just prove to people you're full of hot air, teme."

"Dobe!"

"HEY! Naruto, Sasuke, be quiet! Class is beginning!" The now arriving Iruka shouted.

"Pfft, you're no fun Iruka-sensei! Why don't you 'cool down'?" the dev – I mean, Naruto shouted with an evil grin. He quickly pulled a string attached to his finger, pulling down a bucket of freezing water on top of Iruka.

"COLD!" Iruka shrieked as he jumped up, only to fall into his seat, which was covered with ice cubes Naruto planted, resulting in another shriek and jump. Meanwhile, Naruto laughed like he was possessed. He was pounding the table in laughter, which many other students, including Sasuke, mimicked.

"BWAHAHAHAHA! Oh, I can't breath! I can't breath!" Naruto shouted in laughter.

"NARUTO!" Iruka shouted with his Big-Head-Of-Doom Jutsu. "DETENTION, BRAT!"

"It was completely worth it!" Naruto shouted back, unable to keep a smile off his face as the laughter died down. Iruka gritted his teeth before heading to the bathroom to change.

Sasuke chuckled one last time. "Looks like I'll have to stay with you for detention."

"That's what you get for making me pay, teme!"

"Dobe."

XxX

The movie had been awesome! Now all that was left was to keep Sasuke distracted while Naruto dealt with Itachi. Fortunately, Naruto still had some sleeping powder from some of his pranks.

With Sasuke having eaten the drugged ramen Naruto offered, it was only a matter of time before Sasuke dropped asleep from its effects.

When he did, Naruto quickly snuck outside, quietly making his way to the Uchiha Compound. By the time he got there, parts of the streets were already painted with blood.

"…Damn," Naruto fought the urge to hurl as he saw the corpses, "Itachi…"

"What are you doing here, Naruto-kun?" Naruto whirled around, recognizing the quiet voice. Itachi was wearing his ANBU armor. He and the sword he was wielding were covered in blood.

"I could ask you the same thing… Itachi. Or is it safe to assume that you have finished killing you're loved ones?" Naruto said, more serious than he ever had been as he fought to not look into the swirling red eyes of Itachi Uchiha. One look and it was over.

Time for the plan.

Before Naruto could say anything else, Itachi quickly slashed him across the chest with his sword. Naruto's eyes widened before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Oh, that's right. They're not all dead, are they?" A voice that belonged to Naruto continued behind him, unhindered. Itachi quickly spun around to face him.

How did Naruto know the Kage Bunshin?

"Where is Sasuke?" Itachi intoned, raising his sword as intimidation.

"He's safe; away from you in a place you'll never find!" Naruto cackled in a sudden burst of insanity.

"So he's in your apartment?" Itachi responded, unaffected.

"Yes, he is. But that's not your concern right now." Naruto said, all seriousness in his now cold blue eyes.

POOF! Itachi had cut him down, only for it to be another Kage Bunshin. How had he placed all those Bunshin without him knowing, Itachi mused. No matter.

"Take it easy, Mr. Big-Shot-ANBU-Captain. I'm not here to fight. Of course, if you want," Naruto said, killer intent spiking as his eyes flashed crimson, "I can go wild." '_Thanks for intimidation, fuzzball.'_

**Just kill the bloody Uchiha. One more Uchiha gone is a good thing now that all the other spineless wastes are dead. **Kyuubi growled.

Ignoring the fox, Naruto continued talking to the Uchiha who had just flinched. "What I want is just to talk."

Having played most of his hand, Naruto crossed his fingers in hopes that Itachi didn't kill him.

"What is it you want?" Itachi slowly said.

"Well, let's see. Itachi Uchiha, prodigy of the Uchiha clan. Heralded as a genius since he could walk. Genin at 7, Chunin at 8, and now at 13, an ANBU Captain. Very smart." Naruto said, reciting facts about Itachi.

"The future Clan Head who could do almost anything. That's quite an impressive list of things. Of course, there's just one thing that needs to be added." Naruto shook his head for dramatic effect. "A psychopathic family killer? I. Don't. Think. So." Naruto articulated for emphasis.

Itachi's red eyes widened in surprise.

"So lets cut all the bullshit and come clean. Why did you kill the Uchiha?"

Itachi closed his eyes and did something that scared Naruto shitless; he chuckled. Itachi chuckled mirthlessly and approached Naruto, Sharingan deactivated.

"It's incredible I didn't realize you were this intelligent, Naruto-kun." He paused right in front of Naruto before looking right into his blue eyes, which stared right back at him defiantly.

He paused before saying one word that scared Naruto to the core. "**Tsukiyomi.**"

He didn't even see him activate his Sharingan! The world grew dark, as the last he saw was his eyes shifting into a pinwheel form.

The world turned red and the moon that was above them turned towards him. It wasn't just the fact that Naruto was caught in a genjutsu that knocked out Sasuke for a month that scared him. What really made the fear sink in was the moon that he saw: it was a Sharingan eye.

XxX

Naruto felt like it had been hours since he had been strapped to the table. Swords stuck out of him as multiple Itachis stabbed him. All he knew was pain. All he knew was terror.

71 hours, 59 minutes, 55 seconds to go.

It was a moment before Itachi began to speak.

"It was ordered by the Hokage and the Elders." Naruto's head bolted up in shock. Before he could ask for more information, Itachi stabbed him again, eliciting a scream of pain.

Naruto smirked right after he fell limp. "I guess I don't have to take this anymore."

Before Itachi could ask what he meant, he got his answer: a great, menacing, red chakra began to leak out of Naruto, taking the form of a fox.

The Kyuubi.

Before Itachi could move, the chakra lunged at him, swallowing him in darkness.

When the darkness faded, Itachi was staring with a shocked face at a smirking Naruto through bars.

"I guess you _can_ be useful, fuzzbag."

"**I should annihilate you for that, puny mortal. But I'd rather spend my time devouring the Uchiha.**" Boomed a voice behind Itachi.

Itachi turned around slowly. He saw a massive mouth, filled with vicious teeth the size of nodachi. He looked up and saw a massive red eye with a pupil the size of him.

"Kyuubi." He said, surprisingly hiding his fear.

"If you want out, dispel the Genjutsu." Naruto said as his saving grace. Before Itachi could do just that, the Kyuubi slammed his paw on him before lifting him to his massive, malicious muzzle.

Barely able to move, both from pain and constriction, Itachi made a handseal and everything disappeared.

XxX

As reality returned, both Itachi and Naruto staggered from pain and exhaustion. Before Naruto could do anything else, he collapsed.

"I'll… take care of Sasuke." Naruto rasped.

"Don't tell him the truth. Otherwise…" Itachi shook his head in slight worry. "Goodbye, Naruto-kun." He disappeared in a swirl of leaves. A moment later, as Naruto's edges of sight began to turn dark, masked ninja with the same kind of armor as Itachi began to appear.

"ANBU…" Naruto gasped before everything faded to black.

XxX Chapter End XxX

**I think I covered the massacre to the satisfaction of my audience. Its hard writing it each time but I think it was okay. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please, REVIEW. I'd like to know what you have to say.**

**P.S. To the readers of ****A Commander's Creed****, sorry, but I might not update it for a while.**

**King, signing out**


	3. 3G

**Naruto: Fishcake Chronicles: Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any videogame for that matter. And I don't own Majin's or Chibi's stories. I'm simply making my own.**

**Welcome back! I'm your host HKN and I'm bringing YOU, my readers, another chapter of Fishcake Chronicles.**

**But before I do that, it's time to start the **_**Review Response!**_

**Review 1:**

_Hmm a bit too soon to say much about you fic here. So far it looks to be interesting. Might be a good idea to maybe have a stats recap at the end of each chapter if there has been an upgrade maybe. Also maybe toss in a lvl 3 harem no jutsu that includes the great exploding clone or 3 lost for the ero senin_

_Sang28_

**I suppose it is a bit too soon to be throwing flattery around like confetti. And thanks to you, there **_**will**_** be a stats recap now. That last idea of yours is brilliant: make the pervs helpless and then – BOOBIE BOOM!**

**Review 2:**

_wtf is up with naruto's fixation with sasuke? did he just conveniently forget that he was the one to kill him? i hate naruto for that._

_Guest #1_

**Haven't you heard the saying? Don't hate the player, hate the game (pun intended). But really, he's fixated because he can prevent that. He hasn't forgotten; that's why he's trying to change him.**

**Review 3:**

_What was the point of giving Naruto all those powerups in the beginning? Isnt he techniquly smarter due to all the re sets?_

_Guest #2_

**The purpose was to introduce the concept of powerups (which is most like the way in Fallout). And there is a difference.**

**He has more **_**knowledge**_** due to the resets, not intelligence. He knows what will happen. That doesn't mean he's smarter.**

**Review 4:**

_I guess the game was set on nightmare mode._

_Guest #3_

**Because I don't know what you're talking about, I'm gonna nod and say, "…Uh huh."**

**Review 5:**

_Nice work on this vidoe game Naruto story so far._

_Deathmvp_

**Thanks for the straight compliment.**

**Review 6:**

_YO, im sorry for overreacting in my last review. This chapter was good, really like the choosing of beliefs and hopefully Naruto gets more power ups,he need them!_

_Guest #4_

**No problemo. Just don't judge about the pairings. Even I haven't thought of the pairings yet. **

**Let me just say this:**

THERE IS A POLL!

**Also, thanks for liking the beliefs. I got the idea from Skyrim and the Guardian Stones. Hopefully, he will find more powerups.**

**Review 7:**

_Maybe you should start putting his stats and levels at the bottom of each chapter to make it easier on the readers. Also you should put a rating system that determines what his stats are at? Like from 0 to 19 Civilian 20 to 40 is genin 41 to 60 Chunin 61 to 80 Jonin 81 to 100 Elite Jonin 101 to 130 Kage/Sannin 131 to 200 Biju_

_Right now I count _

_Strength increase 5_

_Intelligence increase 24_

_Perception increase 2_

_Poison skill 3_

_Shootingcuz_

**I have decided that I will. And I already have a system. But, it is more complex than yours.**

**Just as a favor, I will post the current stats right now for those to understand.**

**Naruto Uzumaki's Current Stats (Chapter 2)**

**Strength: 5 (7)**

**Perception: 2 (3)**

**Endurance: 0 (7)**

**Charisma: 0 (7)**

**Chakra: 0 (5)**

**Intelligence: 24 (2)**

**Agility: 0 (3)**

**Luck: 0 (6)**

**Poison skill: +3**

**The ones in parentheses are his primary statistics, out of 10. The permanent bonuses of the Kyuubi would add to that primary statistic. **

**Basically, the use is that you divide the primary statistic by 10 and then multiply it by increased stats. Add that to the current stats and you have your total.**

**I'll do it know, for free.**

**Strength: (7)/10 = .7 * 5 ~ 4 + 5 = 9**

**Perception: 3**

**Endurance: 0**

**Charisma: 0**

**Chakra: 0**

**Intelligence: 29**

**Agility: 0**

**Luck: 0**

**I know, I know, it isn't completely true according to Fallout style, but it seems a bit right to me, plus you have to factor in his Jinchuuriki status. **

**Remember, the stats are his **_**boosts**_**. Not his current power. So don't worry about the zeroes. **

**Ask if you have any other questions about stats.**

**Review 8:**

_-nods a bit- you got me reading just for the fact of what its based off of, but the writing styles good enough ill deffinitely keep at it. look forward to updates_

_xArtehx_

**I'm glad it you were drawn to it and even more happy that you enjoy my writing. **

**I'm not sure if I'll update that much because of school restarting, but I'll try.**

**Sorry about the long review(s)! Now, time for the next chapter!**

**XxX Chapter 3: Gambits, Gods, and Grand Fireballs XxX**

XxX Chapter Begin XxX

The darkness started to fade and grow brighter as Naruto started to stir. When he opened his eyes, he was in a hospital bed, surrounded by white tiles and walls and was wearing nothing but a hospital gown.

"Well, I guess I'm still alive…" Naruto mumbled to himself. For a second, the room was silent, before –

**Congratulations! You Have Unlocked Leveling!** The room turned black and white all of a sudden as the word popped at Naruto's face.

Causing him to scream and have a minor heart attack, thinking Itachi was back.

**Quest Complete: 'Save Sasuke!' Achievement: Survived Itachi! Gained +3 intelligence! Gained +2 charisma!**

**Experience gained: 134!**

"What? Did I gain more power-ups? Let's see…" He read, "Experience? Leveling? What is all that?"

**When completing in quests or getting Achievements, you can gain Experience Points. When having earned enough Experience Points, you can gain Level. With an increase in level increases stat points.**

"Sweet! I get those power-ups without having to look for them. It's gonna take a while, though."

**Level up! Level 2!**

**Stats gained:**

**Strength: +2!**

**Perception: +2!**

**Endurance: +1!**

**Charisma: +2!**

**Chakra: +4!**

**Intelligence: +2!**

**Agility: +2!**

**Luck: +3!**

The fishcake containing all the power-ups flew into Naruto's mouth and he gulped unconsciously. Naruto almost choked before stopping as he expanded as if he was bulking up before his body contracted back to normal.

"Damn, I think I grew an inch! And I feel great!" Naruto exclaimed.

The world faded back to multicolor and immediately after Naruto regained his bearings, the Sandaime and a doctor opened the door and entered his room.

The Sandaime smiled as he greeted the young temporary-invalid, "Hello, Naruto-kun. Its good to see you've woken up."

"Jiji! Man, am I glad to see you! How'd you know I was up?"

Sarutobi teasingly smirked at Naruto. "It's a secret. You'll know when you're Hokage."

"What?! That's unfair! I bet it was the ANBU keeping an eye on me that told you." Naruto complained, half-knowingly hitting the nail on the head. The Sandaime showed no surprise at Naruto's ability to sense the ANBU and instead laughed.

"You'll learn when you're older, Naruto. Now, how about I treat you to a bowl of ramen? That is of course, if he's clear to leave, Ichiro-san."

The aforementioned doctor, Ichiro, nodded his head in confirmation. "Ichiro-san will be your new doctor from this point on. Don't worry," the Sandaime explained, "he doesn't dislike you, Naruto."

"That's good to know jiji. But um…" Naruto answered, quietly clutching the blankets. "I'd like to talk, jiji."

Sarutobi saw the hurt in his eyes. After, even if Naruto was Minato's son, he was a child who had suffered through an ultimate genjutsu. Thankfully, Itachi had let him live. That, or the Kyuubi had saved him. Somehow, both prospects were unsettling.

"Please, could you give us some privacy, Ichiro-san?" Sarutobi asked, Ichiro leaving the room immediately.

Naruto scowled, though. "No, Sandaime-sama, could we please have some _privacy_?" he requested, his voice telling him that the ANBU had to leave and privacy was priority.

The ANBU Shunshinned out of the room as the Hokage immediately used a privacy jutsu. "What did you want to talk about, Naruto-kun?" the Sandaime asked. Naruto paused.

'_What do you think, fox? I think that if we play our hand a bit less than last night, we could finally get some answers.'_

**Just don't make a mistake, fleshbag. I really don't want to spend another eight years sealed in an idiot from a slip of the tongue.** Kyuubi grumbled.

"Say, jiji, you like games right?" Naruto asked, a plan forming in his mind. Hiruzen frowned. Naruto made him dismiss his guards for a game?

"And you're 'The Professor', right? So I guess you're very smart." Naruto continued. "So how about this? I've got some trivia questions from, your host, the future Hokage!" Naruto said pumping his fist. Hiruzen smiled a bit at the bout of childishness. "Here's the catch, though. If you don't have the right answer to the trivia question, you have to answer a question I actually have with all of your knowledge! Do you accept these terms, oh all-knowing jiji? Hokage's honor!" Naruto chanted, as if trying to schmooze a god.

Instantly, Hiruzen was on guard, though he hid it with a boasting smirk. Information was worth more than gold in the world. What did Naruto want? He'd really have to try to get the correct answers.

"Bring it on, gaki!" Sarutobi smirked. "You're a million years too young and a few feet too short to challenge me to a game of knowledge." A tic appeared on Naruto's eyebrow and it twitched in anger at the comment on his height.

Nobody mocked his height and got away with it, damnit!

"First question!" Naruto growled, Sarutobi's smirk widening as he knew his teasing hit home. "What's my favorite flavor of ramen?"

"Miso, gaki!"

"Next question!" Naruto announced, not even letting Sarutobi know if he got his answer correct. "Who founded the village?"

"My sensei, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha!"

"Third question!" Naruto announced again, though his voice was slightly more serious. A feeling of uneasiness wormed its way into Sarutobi's stomach.

"How many Bijuu have there been?"

Hiruzen's eyes widened a bit at his question, though Naruto's face gave away nothing. Perhaps he meant the present and past tense about the Kyuubi's 'death'.

"Nine." Sarutobi answered. Naruto's faced remained stone-like as he asked his next question.

"Fourth question." Naruto turned his blue eyes up to look straight into Sarutobi's eyes. This time, something was hidden in their depths, but he couldn't tell what. Uneasiness began to roil even more in his stomach, rearing its head like a horse.

"Who is the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi?"

The Sandaime gasped at the question. How… how did he know? Did someone tell him? Did he figure it out? "Naruto… I –"

"Fifth and final question." Naruto interrupted. His eyes now showed emotion. Anger. Fright. Pain.

"Why did Itachi Uchiha massacre his clan?"

Hiruzen abruptly stood up, his face stone, though pain shone in his eyes quite fiercely. He didn't say anything and Naruto began to mirthlessly chuckle. "Well, looks like the great Professor isn't the smartest. You didn't have the answer to three questions. Therefore, I get three questions."

"How… how could you… how could you know if the Yondaime had either killed Kyuubi or created a Jinchuuriki?" Sarutobi asked, his eyes facing the ground.

Naruto smiled sadly. "They can't die. You can only seal them, jiji. And in class, as we practiced using chakra, I saw the seal on my stomach jiji." Hiruzen finally looked Naruto in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, I truly am. I wish you weren't the container of the fox. I wish that the citizens wouldn't treat you like a monster." Sarutobi said quietly. "The Yondaime wanted the people to view you as a hero, a guardian holding back the fox from destroying them. But I guess…"

"There's a saying I read, jiji." Naruto rolled his eyes as the Sandaime jokingly looked at him incredulously. "Yes, yes, I read jiji. 'Humans fear what they don't understand and hate what they cannot conquer.'

They don't know about the seal. They don't understand what happened, so they fear me. And I've heard that the Kyuubi was unstoppable, undefeatable, all destroying. Hell, I think I'd shit my pants if I stared the fox in the face that day." Ignoring the Kyuubi's snickering, he continued.

"They hate me because they couldn't conquer the fox. They believe that they can conquer the fox by conquering me. And so, they try to kill me. But," Naruto suddenly grinned, "don't worry, jiji! I'll still take that hat from you one day, even if the people hate me. It'll be my duty, like yours – I'll protect the people, even if they hate me because everyone in this village will be my family someday. I'll be the best Hokage ever and I'll bring peace to this angry world. That's my nindo, jiji, my ninja way."

Hiruzen was stunned by Naruto's speech. He was shocked by his compassion, his will to protect even those that despised him, and his goal.

He truly was his father's son.

The Sandaime let out a hearty laugh when he heard Naruto. "I'm proud to say that I can't wait to give you that hat, Naruto." He hugged Naruto, getting a fierce one in exchange.

"Jiji, there's still my questions." Hiruzen let go of Naruto, before motioning him to ask them.

"Itachi…" Ah, that.

"I'll have to start from the beginning, Naruto. But listen closely," Sarutobi interrupted, his expression, voice, and body radiating seriousness. Naruto gulped, as he felt slightly worried. "What you hear now is an S-ranked secret. That means that if you reveal it to anybody, it is a capital offense. You understand what that entails?"

Naruto bobbed his head up and down numbly. "Can I tell Sasuke why he did it?" The Sandaime sighed as he sat down. He looked weary and much more like his age with wrinkles adorning his visage. "I'll have to think about it. For now, I'm afraid you can't." Naruto nodded once more.

"The Third Shinobi War occurred when Itachi was younger than you. As a result, he had become immensely traumatized and turned into a pacifist." Seeing Naruto understood what he said, he continued.

"However, he was talented. Too talented for his own good, I'm afraid. As a result, we couldn't afford to not have him in the shinobi corps. So, he continued his career. By the time he was thirteen, he was an ANBU. However, the Uchiha had plans."

Hiruzen paused for emphasis in his next words.

"The Uchiha were planning a coup d'état."

Naruto became shocked. They wanted to overthrow jiji? But he was great!

"Apparently, they became hungry for power and began to plan to overthrow me. The Elders – my teammates, Koharu and Homura and Danzo – and myself decided to convene to decide the fate of the Uchiha. The decision that we made, sadly, was to end the lives of the Uchiha. Itachi was assigned the mission to kill off the Uchiha. However, he had always planned to spare his brother."

The two sat in silence as they silently paid their respects to the deceased. "Well then, you have two more questions, Naruto. I suggest you make them count as you won't get another opportunity like this." Sarutobi proclaimed.

"Actually, I have three questions left, jiji because you didn't even let me finish my first one. Therefore, I still have three." Naruto smirked.

Sarutobi grumbled, "Cheeky brat."

"What was that thing that Itachi used against me to knock me out?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know much, though according to Itachi, it was something called the Mangekyou Sharingan. It is apparently another level of the Sharingan. I guess what he used was one of its powers; a powerful genjutsu that made you unconscious last night. However, the requirement to unlock it is to kill the one closest to you."

Naruto looked shocked. That explained what Sasuke said in his first life.

'_I'm fighting you _because_ you're my best friend.'_ Was Sasuke aiming to gain the Mangekyou in that fight?

"That's all I know about it, Naruto." Sarutobi said, interrupting Naruto's thoughts.

"Thank you, jiji. I think I'll save my other two questions for a later date." The Hokage nodded, preparing to take the down the privacy jutsu, before a thought struck him.

"Naruto, one last question. I know two that I got wrong, but what was the third?" Naruto's eyes were trained on the sheets and in a slightly haunted voice he responded.

"The third question."

Sarutobi left the room trying to remember what was the third question. He froze when he reached his office after Shunshinning there.

The question about the number of Bijuu.

Only one thought crossed Sarutobi's mind:

'_I really need a smoke.'_

XxX

Naruto walked to his apartment door, having forgotten even the offer of ramen from the Hokage. Nobody bothered to harass him, all grieving the loss of the Uchiha.

They didn't know the truth.

When he opened the door, he found one awake, both sad and angry, Sasuke Uchiha waiting for him.

Shit.

He stormed up to Naruto and grabbed him by the collar. "Why? Why didn't you tell me? You knew! That's why you drugged my ramen!" he shouted. He punched Naruto in the face, eliciting no response, and throwing him to the ground. Tears were streaming down his eyes now. "WHY DID YOU LET MY CLAN DIE!? WHY DIDN'T YOU LET ME COME AND KILL ITACHI?!"

"We had no chance at all of stopping your brother, much less killing him. There was no chance of stopping the massacre because he was too damn strong!" Naruto shouted right back as he got up.

"You weren't strong enough! I wasn't strong enough! We could do NOTHING!"

Sasuke grew quiet. Then he lifted his eyes to face Naruto. They were just as he had seen them in his first life: cold and on the verge of madness. "Then I'll have to obtain power at any costs to avenge my family." He growled.

This could not be allowed to happen.

Naruto smacked Sasuke across the face. Rage was quite apparent in both of their eyes.

"Are you fucking insane?" Naruto shouted. He picked him up by the collar as he did in the Valley of the End before the fight. "You understand what you're saying? You would probably betray Konoha just to kill your brother?"

His eyes softened. "Sasuke, I know your family died. I wish I could have done something. But this isn't the end." He picked Sasuke up before continuing. "You may think I don't understand your pain. I guess I don't. You've had a family and lost it. I haven't had a family at all. But you know…" Naruto gave a genuine smile, if slightly sad and rueful. "You've sorta been that family for me."

Sasuke's closed eyes snapped open wide and he looked at Naruto in shock. Unheeding of Sasuke's reaction, Naruto continued speaking. "Whenever we hang out, I think that's what it is like to have a brother. And," Naruto paused to look at Sasuke. In his eyes, he could see sadness, loneliness, and… something else. "I don't want to lose another family."

They stood there in silence for a few moments. Naruto had just revealed a measure of loneliness, of sadness, that he only truly revealed just before his first death. Sasuke looked Naruto straight in the eyes before cracking a smile. "I've lost my family… I've lost my brother… but I'm glad that still have some family left."

Naruto gave a small smirk. "Heh, who do you think I am? I won't die so easily! We'll both become the strongest and then… we'll see what the future holds." Naruto's smile grew somber for second. "Sasuke… Itachi told me that he killed them to test his power. But," he paused again to see Sasuke's reaction, "I think that's bullshit."

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock.

"Why kill your family to see how strong you are? If he wanted to, he could challenge Hokage-jiji and get his ass beat to see how strong he was. No," Naruto shook his head, "I think there was an ulterior motive," Naruto said, hiding the truth from Sasuke as he promised the Sandaime.

"But what I do know is this. We'll get strong, stronger at our pace and when the time comes, we'll find Itachi. We'll find him and ask him ourselves. And if he resists," Naruto grinned, "well, we'll just have to kick his ass!" He held out his fist to be bumped as a sign of agreement.

Sasuke let out one of his rare smiles. Naruto truly was a one of a kind friend. "Thanks… brother." He said, whispering the last part so that Naruto couldn't hear it as he bumped the other's fist.

He still had family.

XxX

A few months later, the two woke up for another day at the academy. At Sasuke's request, after the massacre, they returned to the compound and attended the funeral. Many attended the funeral and offered their condolences, although some who did had less than honorable intentions in mind.

After the funeral, his father's will was read. According to it, if he died, Itachi or his brother would inherit the entirety of the Uchiha estate and its properties. The Military Police was set to be run by the alive Uchiha, but since there weren't any and since Sasuke was too young, it would be handled by the Hokage, who had given jurisdiction of it to the Hyuuga, who had given control of it to the Branch Family.

The Uchiha fortune left to Sasuke would be inherited when he became a chunin or the age of eighteen. The clan's businesses, at Naruto's suggestion, would be continued. It was to be handled by the Hokage.

The plan was that the Hokage would install some employees to run the establishment in Sasuke's stead and that the village would receive a greater portion of the profit from the businesses but the income was mainly deposited for maintenance and into the Uchiha fortune. Of course, Sasuke still owned the enterprises and could access some money from the profit at his choice.

Sasuke requested Naruto to come stay with him in the Uchiha estate and he agreed. Once he had moved all of his stuff, the two stayed in the same residence.

As their academy days continued, their training together did not stop and grew even more intense. Naruto was thrilled and very frightened at the same time. All the changes to his previous life made him very afraid of future events. How much would be changed by having a greater role in Sasuke's life?

Sasuke had welcomed him into the clan as an honored brother. The initiation was just he learning one of Sasuke's signature jutsu, one he had to learn in his coming of age.

Naruto learned the Katon: Gokakyu in two weeks. With Sasuke's guidance, Naruto had learned the special fire jutsu that Sasuke used quite often. It was quite difficult.

He had to stand on the pier and practice the handsigns until he could utilize it quick enough. After getting the few handsigns engrained in his mind and he could make them in under a second, Naruto began to practice the jutsu.

In order to use the Gokakyu, one had to knead the chakra in their body and convert into fire, followed by expelling it from the mouth. This led to many an amusing attempt of Naruto getting slightly burned or just coughing up smoke.

When he finally could expel a flame, he wasn't two pleased with the jutsu. The form that Sasuke preferred was a flamethrower and it left him quite vulnerable to enemy attacks, as he had to stay in a spot to cast the jutsu. If one got strong enough, they could expel a massive amount of fire quite quickly. However, Naruto decided that instead of stopping at the flamethrower, he would practice enough that he could do it as a ball of fire. Currently, he was able to make a flame as large as Sasuke's and it was slowly becoming a more compressed ball of fire.

The technique scroll Sasuke had on it detailed that to do it, the flames had to be compressed quite a bit to keep the flames in the sphere. That required better chakra control. What didn't help was that the element of fire didn't feel completely his own, like his ability to utilize the elements was for a different element. Still, that meant a lot of chakra control.

Naruto hated chakra control training.

His body had to be retrained in chakra control. He knew how to do it, but he had to keep doing it. When Sasuke found him practicing walking and running up and down trees, Naruto taught him as well. Of course, it turned into a competition between them. Naruto won, only because he had done it before. He completed tree climbing in three days and could do it quite easily. Sasuke finished in five days with Naruto's support.

That left water walking, the last of the three exercises Naruto knew for chakra control. He knew how to stick a leaf to his forehead, tree climb, and he had to do water walking again.

He included Sasuke so they could both learn it. Sasuke was a little suspicious that Naruto knew the exercises but Naruto waved it off by saying he looked up some basic exercises for his poor control. Maybe if he practiced enough, he could make that blasted Bunshin!

Still, he had plenty of time right now. When Iruka introduced the basic-three academy ninjutsu, he didn't really have to worry. But when Iruka mentioned some of their applications, Naruto decided to practice them to perfection, especially the Kawarimi.

The Replacement Technique was very useful, especially since if he could do it on a second's notice. If he could do it seallessly, which was possible with enough practice and control, he could escape almost any sticky situation.

With the water walking relearned well enough that Naruto and Sasuke could spar on it, Naruto needed something for better chakra control.

He planned to combine the two exercises as a way to train his control and mastery of the jutsu. Currently, when he tried to do it on water, he could switch with a log on the water, but once he did, he could barely regain his footing on the water. However, he could do the Kawarimi with the log with one less handsign on land, showing his bettered control.

"Katon: Gokakyu!" Naruto blew a ball of fire the size of a boulder over the lake, which dissipated a few seconds after it was shot. It wasn't compressed enough, nor was it strong enough.

"Naruto! Come on! We gotta get to the academy!" Sasuke shouted as he waved to him.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming! And you are paying for ramen later!" Naruto shouted back at him.

"If you don't hurry up, you aren't gonna get any damn ramen!"

Naruto ran after Sasuke to the academy, eager for another lesson… okay, just for ramen.

XxX Chapter End XxX

**Okay, I know this chapter is a bit shorter than what you, my readers could expect from me, but I couldn't really think of what else to write. Therefore, I ended it here.**

**I hope you all liked the way I wrote the massacre and the aftermath. It was short, but hopefully sweet. **

**Naruto Uzumaki's Total Current Stats (Chapter 3)**

**Strength: 12 (7)**

**Perception: 5 (3)**

**Endurance: 2 (7)**

**Charisma: 3 (7)**

**Chakra: 6 (5)**

**Intelligence: 31 (2)**

**Agility: 3 (3)**

**Luck: 5 (6)**

**Poison skill: +3**

**Read and review and I hope you have enjoyed this chapter.**

**King, signing out.**


	4. It Came From The Other Universe

**Naruto: Fishcake Chronicles: Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any videogame for that matter. And I don't own Majin's or Chibi's stories. I'm simply making my own.**

**Welcome back! I'm your host HKN and I'm bringing YOU, my readers, another chapter of Fishcake Chronicles.**

**But before I do that, it's time to start the **_**Review Response!**_

**Review 1:**

_Not bad with the aftermath of the slaughter. As for the pairings my fav has alway been timari folloed by ino then haku. Looking forward to you next installment._

_Sang28_

**Thank you for your compliment and thank you for your votes Sang. And thank you for your eagerness.**

**Review 2:**

_alright another good chapter. love nice sasuke, and as for my vote either Ino or Haku, id probably prefer Ino because even if you have haku join the village the problem is making it believable. i would be ok with a hinata fic but is drastically overdone. ill probably read no matter wich you choose. i actually would choose Temari overall now that i think about it... but yah my vote_

_#1 Temari (preffered)_

_#2 Haku:if you can make it plausible_

_#2 Ino_

_xArtehx_

**Thank you for your votes and I understand your concerns. It is hard to make a story like that with him/her coming with Naruto. I like Hinata in the stories although not where everyone is bashed like hammers and nails. Same with Sasuke, too.**

**Review 3:**

_This is an awesome story so far! I'll have to go with Temari for the pairing. Please update soon!_

_VampiricBloOdyRose_

**Thank you for the compliment and your vote, vamp!**

**Review 4:**

_supert history_

_yakumo_

_Guest #1_

**I don't know what the first thing means but thanks for the vote.**

**Review 5:**

_i f_ckin' hate naruto's characterization. he's still fixed on sasuke like a leech. sasuke should've simply killed naruto for being an accomplice in his family's murder._

_Guest #2_

**Okay, first of all, there's no need to swear man. I will accept your hate, with a grain of salt, no matter what. And secondly, he was kind of repeating his speech from the Valley. He's just the same kind of person even though he's lived many lives; someone who would do anything to protect their friends. And seriously, would you not want strongest (living) member of the most OVERPOWERED clan in the show on your side, as well?**

**Review 6:**

_Good story so far video game stories have taken the top spot for my favorite story types thanks to your story. I would appreciate if you could post your ranking for narutos ninja skill levels or send it to me. Thanks_

_One Warrior 86_

**Well, thanks. I'm glad you like my story and other video game stories because of me, even though there aren't that many. And I posted his stats at the end of the last chapter, but if you mean ranking and other traits and levels, that will be revealed in due time.**

**Review 7 (Chapter 1):**

_That was messed up, what kind of mind thinks of throwing a baby out a window? Other than that I would like to see what else you come up with._

_Jrf Steel_

**Hey, that was one of the quickest things that could be done at the time and it was made to be a bit funnier than, "He stabbed him with a kunai." **

**Besides, if I was a really sick, sadistic freak, I could've made him do MUCH worse.**

**Review 8:**

_I'm enjoying this story you have keep it up. NaruSaku please!_

_Guest #3_

**Thank you for the compliment and thank you for being the first voter of NaruSaku.**

**Review 9:**

_Honestly, out of all the ones on top, I think that Yakumo with her reality bending genjutsu has the most potential. Hanya mask Yakumo? But temari with her wind jutsu would be way more benificial for naruto skillwise maybe. I would say it would be between them._

_xxAkuxx_

**It's good to know that you have your opinions and it is good to have your votes. To be honest, I'm surprised nobody ever has as many stories with Yakumo in it. There probably worried about some shit like The Exorcist or something. It will be a bit difficult to have her as the pairing, but I'll try my best. And you're right about her uses, too.**

**And Temari, I think the only situations she would be paired truly with Naruto is if there was a political marriage or she was REALLY appreciative about Naruto fixing Gaara. But she can maybe be useful.**

**Review 10:**

_Good chapter and honestly you can't go wrong with a harem. If you don't do that then NaruHina_

_bear0874_

**Thank you for your vote. Honestly, I like harems as well. They are hot, but I just can't ever really see it happen unless Naruto was already a Kage who was accepting multiple marriages or a CRA made him do it. I'm not one to make him have the CRA.**

**Plus, I'm fonder of just having one love. It seems fair to the one you love and, hopefully, vice-versa. So, there won't be a harem.**

**Review 11:**

_"Who should Naruto be paired to in this story?"_

_Hana_

_Shadary_

**Well, that's an interesting thought, man. Unfortunately, Hana is not part of the poll. However, if you send me a review or a PM on why you think she should be with Naruto, I will consider giving her a bigger role in this story.**

**It's too bad the poll is over though. Sorry.**

**Phew, there were a lot of reviews! Now, time for the next chapter!**

**And this time… its gonna be more… interesting than usual. (cue laugh like the Joker)**

**XxX Chapter 4: It Came From The Other Universe XxX**

XxX Chapter Begin XxX

Our blond-haired hero hummed as he began to pull out kunai from the target dummy he had been practicing with. He had thrown ten kunai and ten shuriken each. Seven of the kunai hit the target while six shuriken hit the dummy next to him. Only four kunai of the kunai that had hit would have killed while two of the shuriken had hit fatal spots. But one of those two went straight into the eye of the dummy.

He and Sasuke were both nine now. It had been six months since the two became brothers-from-different-mothers and they had both become a lot stronger.

On his ninth birthday, he went to the older academy students' classes and found Tenten. When he found her, he… persuaded her to help him.

XxX Flashback XxX

_Tenten was sitting in her seat, head on the table, feeling REALLY bored as she was listening to her teacher lecture on and on about… some history or some place._

_She was REALLY bored._

_A minute later, she started to get really frustrated, wishing for something to happen._

_Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear._

"_Suzume-sensei!" Iruka said, popping his head in the door. "May I please borrow your student, Tenten?"_

_She lifted her head up a fraction and looked to the teacher. This was an interesting development. _

"_Sure, Iruka! Tenten," Suzume agreed, turning to Tenten, "please, go with him."_

_Tenten got up and headed out the door. What had she done? She didn't think she did anything wrong. She followed him to the training fields of the academy where people practiced long-range weapons. _

"_Tenten, please demonstrate your kunai and shuriken technique." Iruka asked as he turned to face her._

"_Hai!" She quickly drew ten kunai and shuriken and whipped them all to the dummies. The kunai and shuriken were all on target with spectacular aim. She smiled as the teacher's eyes widened. Looks like she impressed some people._

"_Perfect…" Iruka breathed. _

_POOF!_

_Where Iruka once was, a blond-haired boy stood. "Please teach me, Tenten-sensei!"_

"_Who the hell are you?" she asked, glaring as she drew more kunai. The boy scrambled to cover his face._

"_NONONO! Not the face! I just wish to learn!" Tenten lowered the weapons._

"_What would you want to learn from me shortie?" she asked curiously._

_A tic appeared on Naruto's eyebrow. "I'm not that small and I'm only a year younger than you." _

"_So, you're nine and you want to learn from me?" _

"_Yeah, I heard you were a monster with weapons. Please teach me! I really suck at weapons!" He pleaded._

_Tenten raised her eyebrow. This kid wanted her to teach him? Time to see what she could get out of the deal._

"_Why should I teach you how to throw weapons?" _

"_Weeeell, it's my birthday today and… well, this would be the first gift I've ever gotten." His eyes shone with innocence and sadness, like a kicked puppy dog. She almost wanted to give him a hug like an older sister._

_Almost._

"_I don't know… I mean, I guess I should. Wait," she said, endingly accusingly, "You used __**Henge **__(Transformation Technique)! The teachers haven't even taught my class that! How do you know it?" _

"_Ehehehe, well, I, uh…" Naruto chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, "I really needed to know it, so I snuck into the library to learn it. Don't tell on me!" _

"_Hmm, alright then. I'll teach you better throwing technique," she said, causing him to light up, "IF," she said, emphasizing her last word with a raised finger, causing him to deflate, "you teach me the Henge."_

"_Deal!" Naruto said happily. _

XxX Flashback End XxX

Since then, he had learned how to actually hit something with his kunai. He wasn't great now, but it was a great improvement from before.

He continued to hum happily as he thought of his other improvements. Kunai throwing wasn't the only thing he'd improved at.

The Archives of the Uchiha was filled with much knowledge. Among that were history, geography, sciences, and many other topics.

What he wanted to find was the scrolls on ninjutsu. And there were a lot of scrolls. Naruto had once heard from the Sandaime that the Hokage had to know over a thousand techniques. He'd thought he'd been exaggerating, but when he asked the Sandaime how many jutsu he knew, the man grinned and said, "More than a thousand."

He had been shocked to say the least, but that merely increased his determination. He delved into the Archives to learn more ninjutsu, to learn about how to stop genjutsu, and he definitely wanted to know about fuuinjutsu.

It was almost his duty as a jinchuuriki to know about sealing.

But, like any man would say, there was "so many books, so little time." If only he could read more than one book at a time…

He had learned a few more from the Archives. Since most of their jutsu were fire jutsu, he decided to learn them and some wind jutsu to complement them, as he learned from listening to Iruka (for once!) that, when combined, the fire techniques multiply in strength.

To say the least, the pyromaniac in Naruto was gleeful at the prospect.

Naruto was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard the growl of his stomach. It was time for breakfast, but he still had yet to finish picking all the kunai and shuriken in the dummies and he REALLY was stinking from all his training in the morning. So, he made a Kage Bunshin to go make him some breakfast.

A few minutes later, he was in the shower and taking a hot bath. He took that time to relax and clear his mind of all distractions. When he emerged minutes later, he frowned. His Kage Bunshin had just dispelled after making his breakfast, which was eggs. However, it saw Sasuke slam the door to the compound and breathing heavily. Sasuke told the Kage Bunshin that he had been chased by the fangirls… again.

While Naruto would have laughed at that, he realized something.

How did he know what his Kage Bunshin learned?

He decided to test that thought later, although if he could do what he thought he could, it would be a massive aide in becoming Hokage.

Still, that could wait. '_Time for breakfast!'_ he thought as he dried off.

XxX

Akui Goyokuna paced nervously about his office. Ever since the massacre happened, he had been pacing about everyday.

Akui was an estate agent. He sold the lands and homes of Konoha to people who wanted to settle there.

Akui also loved money. There was nothing he loved more. And he made a lot of money every time he sold property in Konoha and other places. And the most valuable piece of property in Konoha was the Uchiha Estate.

That blasted Fugaku had left it to his son. Of course, due the boy's possibly terrible mental state at the loss of his clan, he would be unable to maintain the family affairs, like the businesses or the upkeep of the estate.

That wasn't the case, though. Akui scowled. It was that fucking demon child! He must have known that he would have wanted that property! It was such a great opportunity. It would have brought in so much money…

But since the demon brat had meddled in the Uchiha's mental state, they got to keep the Uchiha Estate and have its businesses continue. Curses!

Akui took a deep breath and calmed down before smirking. That would all change very soon. He would kill two birds with one stone and get the estate all to him self. He could almost see himself now, having his pockets lined with gold…

TAP TAP.

He turned, annoyed, to the window. What was interrupting his sweet dreams? He opened the window and let the pigeon in. When he did, his eyes' attentions were drawn to the little wrapped up note on its leg. Akui pulled it off and read it before laughing.

They were here.

XxX

The famous wall of Konoha was very well known. It had kept out enemies in many conflicts, especially in all the wars. Iwagakure had sent some of their best demolitionists and they barely phased the wall. The most that had happened was that a few feet were blown off in explosions and some cracks appeared on the surface, but nothing more. It would take huge summons to try to damage

There were many chunin that patrolled along the wall, with guard outposts for observation on all sides of the walls.

They weren't perfect.

They had stayed rather lax due to the many years of peace they had. In many cases, they had caught many possible infiltrators trying to scale the wall or find a way to circumvent it.

They didn't have a chance.

However, on the off chance that some get the lazy eye, a very minute few manage to get past the walls.

They should have noticed this one.

A head peeked over the wall, detecting all the nearby guards. Currently, there were two in the outpost; one chunin was asleep, and the other was trying to stay awake. The person waited patiently, until he saw the almost asleep guard put their head down and close their eyes for a moment.

That was all the needed. The person quickly climbed to the top of the wall and dashed to the opposite edge, not making a sound. They were against the edge of the outpost; the guard's head had risen up again. The infiltrator could hear the chunin slapping his cheeks and telling their self to stay awake. The infiltrator looked down before jumping off the edge of the wall into the village.

They twisted in air, somersaulting, as they descended to the ground. The person was poised as if to fall on their back and landed on a massive haystack. The hay quickly shuffled before the person exited the haystack and entered the market district, blending amongst the crowd.

If one looked closely enough, the person that had emerged from the haystack was wearing white, hooded robes, and the hood shaped like an eagle's head.

XxX

She had her hands clasped as if she was begging while she went through the crowd. Her hands were gloved and on her forearms, she wore odd vambraces with metal plates. She wore leather pauldrons on her shoulders with leather straps extending down either side of her torso to her belts. On said belts, which covered the red sash she wore, there were tiny pockets on the inside holding something dangerous and a holster for a dagger. On her feet, she wore leather greaves, hiding weapons as well. Finally, there was a sash on her chest that went from her hip to back, holding a bag that hid her crossbow.

'_All according to plan.'_ She thought. From the description of her target, she had to deal with a blond with whiskers named… Naruto.

It was time to find him.

Even now, even as she was one of the few almost ready to ascend to a master, her Mentor's words were recalled.

_The Second Tenet states you must hide from sight. You must allow the crowd to mask you such that you become part of them._

She was the wisest of them, the Mentor was. She had taught her everything she knew, from archery to close-range, from tactics to blending. She wouldn't fail her contract. She wouldn't violate the tenets.

She wouldn't harm an innocent.

She wouldn't be overt about her assassination.

And she would never compromise the Brotherhood.

XxX

Naruto walked through the market to get some new kunai and shuriken for his weapons training. '_I really should get another weapon or something. The kunai aren't enough to be good with. I mean, the Snake Bastard has that sword and jiji uses a staff, and they're pretty damn strong.'_

Naruto was so occupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice when a white robed figure bumped into him. He continued on to the weapons store, continuously thinking about getting a kickass new weapon. That would totally surprise Sasuke next time they fought!

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice that the person who was in white robes turned their head to look back at him slightly incredulous.

He also didn't notice when the white robed figure turned away again and began to follow him and murmured, "He's the one."

XxX

**Fleshbag,** Kyuubi spoke up, **in case you haven't already noticed, some mortal is pursuing us.**

'_What? Why would someone try to follow us?'_

**Perhaps they are like the wannabe-immortals in the black cloaks with the crimson clouds.**

Naruto paled. '_You think Akatsuki could be here? But why now? Did I really change that much by making sure Sasuke's didn't turn out to be such an ass?'_

**I said perhaps,**__Kyuubi growled. **When I search through your senses for power like the shark man and the older emo, I do not detect their power. This whelp must be a master of suppressing their power, which means it is somebody **_**new**_**.**

Naruto paled even more before turning to the Hokage Tower.

**Do not even think about it, weakling. You may be a coward, but perhaps we can turn this situation to our advantage. Avoid them or ambush them and we can gather information.**

'_Okay, I'll head to the training grounds. It'll make life easier beating them down there.'_ Naruto moved through to the market area to lose his pursuer.

**Shit! They blended in the crowd! I lost track of that insect! **Kyuubi cursed.

'_Still, maybe they won't find me.' _Naruto thought.

**Yeah, but if they do, we will not be able to detect them unless they do something obvious and by that time, we'll be forced into the form of a crying, pooping infant again!**

'_Well, we'll just have to stop 'em. For now, I've got to get to a training ground.'_

XxX

The girl snorted. He had disappeared into the crowd, perhaps realizing she was following him. Or perhaps, he had other plans. Still, he could not escape.

She closed her eyes before everything turned a grey color in her view. That gift of sight made taking down her prey much easier, especially when detecting them.

She went in the direction he went, noticing gold footprints among the shadows of the innocents.

He would not escape.

XxX

Naruto quickly fled to the training grounds. He didn't know if the stalker was following him or not at that point, but as long as he was here, he figured he might as well get some weapons training done.

He began to throw kunai at the nearest log, imagining it was a target. When he got tired of throwing kunai, he picked them up and decided to practice his jutsu.

He began to make the signs for the Goka –

**MORTAL! MOVE!** Kyuubi roared in his mind.

The distraction of Kyuubi made his chakra control fumble and he the fire built up instantly. He had no choice but to, in that split second, release the flames. He blasted it out as a flamethrower, his lack of power making it have more recoil, causing him to be pushed back.

THUNK!

A small bolt imbedded itself to its end at an angle that stopped it a few feet in front of where his head would have been.

'_Holy shit!'_ Naruto thought as he whipped his head around to face the trees. '_They REALLY want me dead!'_

When he looked to the trees, he saw a figure in white robes finish reloading another bolt. His eyes widened. He quickly made handsigns –

THUNK!

XxX

She was VERY upset. Usually, her targets were dead when she made her first shot with her crossbow. The first shot had missed his head because he had by pure, dumb luck blown a flame that pushed him back. Though it was clear that when he turned around, as she reloaded another bolt, that he had not expected her to attack him.

It was too bad for him that she wouldn't miss again.

CLICK!

He was making handsigns, again, as the bolt flew at him. '_Too little too late –' _she thought.

THUNK!

How… how did she miss? She scowled. Her marksmanship was amazing! How could the bolt the aimed for his head go over his head? Unless…

She narrowed her eyes. This young one was one of the shinobi.

No matter, she would defeat him.

"Why are you attacking me?" Naruto shouted frantically as she leaped to him with her dagger raised. He rolled out of the way as she landed. Quickly, she threw some of her throwing knives at him.

He made the same signs as before, and she saw it clearly now. There was a ripple in the air and her knives were blown off course.

"**Fuuton: Ranryu** (1)." He said, as he charged at her with a kunai drawn.

So, he thought he could best her at blades, did he?

She'd show him.

XxX

The hooded figure drew their curved dagger and charged at him as he did the same.

'_Time to show people why you don't mess with the future Hokage.'_ Naruto thought, drawing his hands into a cross handsign.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Fifteen other Naruto's joined him in his charge. The robed figure didn't waver. They merely continued on their watch him, the real Naruto.

"Confusion tactics, men!" Naruto cried out. The Kage Bunshin all threw down smoke bombs and they scattered. He quickly transformed into a rock and his Kage Bunshin all threw their kunai at the assassin.

The aforementioned mercenary hacked away at the kunai with their dagger, looking slightly confused. When they looked down, they saw his rock form and threw it at a tree.

SLAM! POOF!

How did they know he was transformed? And how could they tell he was the original?

That could wait. Naruto grinned as he performed more handsigns, different than before, for one of his more favored jutsu. The, now five, the others having been killed, remaining Kage Bunshin followed in suit.

"**Katon: Moeru Tejun! **(2)"

Flames burst to life around his and his clones' feet. They all quickly dashed around in circles around their assailant, dodging either knives or crossbow bolts. Only two were left: the orignal and a clone. But it was too late now.

The Moeru Tejun was a technique originally used to cause flames to appear on one's feet so that when contact was made in kicks, the opponents would also get burned. However, it was discovered that when walking, a trail of flaming footsteps were left behind. But, keep it on too long and you've got hot feet.

Anyway, when used to encircle the enemy, they would be trapped in the ring of fire, unable to escape unless they could jump high enough past the flames or unless they used a water jutsu.

Naruto didn't think this guy knew water jutsu.

The assailant scrambled away from the flames, trying to find a way out. Unable to get away, they tried to stay away from the flames, with hope that Naruto had mercy not to kill them. Or at least, that's what he hoped.

There was a puff of smoke and a rock that a Kage Bunshin that had transformed into one, like him, appeared; giving an uppercut to the assailant that Ryu would be proud of (A/N: Street Fighter joke).

They appeared to be knocked out as the clone jumped up to catch them.

As they did, all the remaining clones and the original Naruto ran through some handsigns.

"Suiton: Mizurappa!" Many tides of water were pulled from the nearby lake and extinguished the flames. Naruto grinned. It was so awesome that he knew more jutsu this time around! Sakura would probably ask him for a date if she saw him beat this guy around!

He could see it now.

_XxX Naruto's Fantasy (read: Delusion) XxX_

"_Oh Naruto, that was amazing! Lets go on a date! Kiss me now!" Sakura squealed with hearts in her eyes._

"_Hell yeah!" Naruto shouted._

_XxX End Delusion XxX_

"Heh… sweet." Naruto said. If he were in his mindscape now, he would see the Kyuubi rolling his eyes and guffawing about his 'pathetic fantasies of attempts to obtain a mate'.

Naruto quickly tied the assailant to the tree and then paused. What would he do with them? Let them go?

**You fool.** Kyuubi growled. **Torture and interrogate them, obviously.**

'_Are you nuts?' _Naruto thought furiously. '_What kind of Hokage, no, what kind of person would I be if I –'_

**You fucking maggot.** Kyuubi growled, baring his massive teeth.** You think this life is full of sunshine and rainbows? NO!**

**It is time you realized something. This life of ours is dark Your life is no different. This kind of act is the tip of all that is done! There are much worse acts than just torturing someone. There is much worse than just killing someone. And right now, you need to get your naïve brain out of that rectum of yours and FUCKING GROW A PAIR! **Kyuubi roared.

Naruto flinched. He took a shuddering breath. '_Even if that is true, I can't do it.'_

**You must do what has to be done. If not for your**_** pathetic**_** self**, Kyuubi sneered, **then at least that even more pathetic duty of yours. If you won't do this to make things easier for your own life, then at least do it for others who might be eventually caught in the crossfire.**

Memories came back to Naruto.

'_I believe that one obtains true strength when protecting their precious person.'_

Haku.

'_If you abandon the mission, you are trash… but if you abandon your teammates, you're worse than trash.'_

Kakashi.

'_To protect the village… that's the duty of the Hokage. And I believe you will do it, Naruto.'_

Jiji.

Naruto swallowed before steeling him self.

'_So what should I do?'_

**It is simple. Ask them who they are, why they attacked you, and if they refuse to divulge the answers, then inflict pain until their tongue loosens. **Kyuubi scoffed. **Personally, I prefer not stopping the pain.**

'_Of course you don't.'_ Naruto thought rolling his eyes. He tapped his chin to think of what he could do to get his answers. A thought occurred to him.

Did Kyuubi make him learn that other jutsu for this purpose?

Well, he might as well see if it works.

Before waking his prisoner up, Naruto took all their weapons on their person away. He found a lot of light throwing knives, a crossbow, and a dagger. His eyebrows rose siightly at the sight of them.

The design of the blades weren't like anything he had seen. This person… it appeared they definitely specialized in assassination based on the weapons. But he couldn't recognize their make.

He quickly pulled a sealing scroll from one of his pockets and sealed all the weapons into it, grinning slightly. Thank you, Tenten.

With the matter of disarming his attacker taken care of, he turned to his charge, noticing that their face was still covered by the hood. Naruto grabbed the hood and –

FLAP!

Oh, shit.

It was a girl. And a pretty one at that. Her face was tanned, a little more than his to the point where they were a very light chocolate color. Her hair was short and a shining ebony. She appeared to be a few years older than him, about the age he graduated from the academy.

Oh, shit.

**Well, it's wondeful that you don't play for the other team. That is a relief as I was quite convinced that you did after the incident of your tongue bath with the Uchiha in our first life. **

'_Wh-wh-WHAT! I'm NOT! I am not gay!'_ He frantically reassured Kyuubi.

**Well, then perhaps you could spare this one and maybe use my power to FINALLY get some tail.**

'… _I am NOT like that! I will not sleep with some girl older than me who just tried to KILL ME!'_ Naruto mentally shouted as he blushed from taking in the beauty of the girl and Kyuubi's comments.

**Fine. But did you notice something?** Kyuubi said, growing serious. **She is just like the Uchiha that killed the others.**

Naruto realized what he was talking about. This girl had probably been training since birth. She was probably being trained to kill as toddler! She and Itachi were just like each other.

**Enough stalling, insect. Wake her up.**

Naruto quickly closed his eyes and steeled his resolve in them.

He moved forward to the tied up girl and smacked her lightly. "Hey. Wake up." She didn't respond.

"HEY! Wake up!" He still didn't receive a response. A tic mark appeared on his eyebrow before a vicious glint appeared in his eyes. A few handsigns later –

"Suiton: Mizurappa!"

SPLASH!

"What the hell?" the girl sputtered as she spat out water. She looked about franticly before noticing she was bound to the tree. She turned and looked at Naruto before her eyes grew cold. "You."

"Yes, me," Naruto began, coolly looking at her. "Me, the one you tried to kill not five minutes ago. As you can imagine, that makes me. Pretty. Freaking. Pissed." Naruto said, emphasizing his words. He quickly drew out a kunai and stabbed it at her. She closed her eyes, prepared for her fate.

THUNK!

The kunai stuck in the wood and she opened her eyes, only to find his close to her own, with a cold, blue, intense fire that was slightly mesmerizing.

"Who are you?" She laughed.

"Kiss my ass."

SMACK! Naruto smacked her across the cheek.

"Don't make checks your ass can't cash in 'cause I am not afraid to do what is necessary to protect my friends. Now, who are you?" he said, slightly cheekily.

"Fuck you!" she spat. Naruto chuckled.

"Fine. Let me get a condom, first." The girl's eyes bulged as he actually began to leave the clearing, her not knowing he was simply pretending.

"Wait!" Jackpot.

"My name is Mitsumi." Check one thing off his list.

"Why did you try to kill me?" Naruto asked.

"It was my job." Mitsumi said.

"Whom do you work for?"

Mitsumi froze and then shook her head. She would never tell him about the Brotherhood! Breaking the third Tenet was unacceptable!

"Bite me."

He did.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" she shouted.

SMACK!

"Well, you have quite a mouth on you. I can't tell if I'd kiss that or not, even with your looks, sweet cheeks."

She sputtered as she reeled from the slap and from indignation. "You… you little –"

SMACK!

"Who are your employers?"

Nothing.

SMACK!

"Who asked you to kill me?"

Nada.

SMACK!

"Who set up the assassination contract?" Naruto asked, getting irritated. Inwardly, he was conversing with Kyuubi.

'_I'm not getting an answer, fuzzbag.'_

**Then use the jutsu, idiot.**

"I really didn't want to do this, but you've given me no choice." Naruto said coldly, making handsigns.

Mitsumi braced herself for anything that would come at her before he grabbed her head. "**Katon: Osoi Rosuto**.(3)"

White-hot pain began exploding in her head and she began to scream in pain. However, since there was nobody else but the two, no one heard her scream.

The pain stopped after a moment and she began to pant as Naruto backpedaled away, looking rather pale. "I… I can't do this. I can't just do this to you!" he growled, though it seemed like he was telling himself that.

He turned around and said, "Fine. Don't tell me whom you work for. Just please, leave me be and leave the village." Naruto threw a kunai at her bindings, cutting her free.

Mitsumi jumped at Naruto, hidden blade extended.

SHUNK!

She looked confused, as her hidden blade had not hit him but a log. "I gave you a chance at freedom. Don't make me regret that." Naruto walked away from the place where he had replaced himself. Mitsumi dashed to him again before she froze, suddenly stiff with fear. Naruto had whipped his head around, an oppressive aura emanating from him of… danger, malice, bloodlust, anger, wrath…

Evil.

Plain-as-day, pure evil.

She looked into his eyes that glared at her, his teeth bared, pointed like an animals. His eyes – they were…

Crimson. Not blue.

Crimson, like the blood of enemies…

Innocents.

She dashed away, afraid, needing to abort her contract and make way for home. Naruto watched her leave the clearing as let go of the Kyuubi's power.

'_I suppose I did all I could.'_

**Pathetic, mortal! **Kyuubi howled.** If your frivolous morals had not clouded your mind, you would have the chance to tear into the one who dared to strike you down! You would have had the chance to rend him, limb from limb, bathe in his blood as it –**

'_No. Just, no. I'm human; you're a demon. You do that gross shit._' Naruto thought, turning green. However, before he could head home, two things happened.

The world froze and turned black and white.

Gigantic words jumped at him.

**Congratulations! You have discovered an Ultra-Rare-Secret!**

"What?" Naruto asked, unable to process.

**You have discovered a Crossover Element! These are super rare! When the events in the game follow a special path, Crossover Elements appear!**

'_Is the game saying Mitsumi was one of those Crossover Elements?'_ Naruto thought to himself.

**Crossover Elements are special beings of other worlds; other universes and lives separate from your own! It is not from the world of Naruto, but from a different one!**

"M-m-Mitsumi was from another world?" Naruto stammered.

**With the encounter of a Crossover Element comes possible long-term missions and great rewards! **

"… Uh-huh." Naruto deadpanned.

**Fight Completed: Defeated Yanagi! Achievement: Assassin's Inception! Gained +6 perception! Gained +4 agility! Gained +3 luck! +3 Trapping!**

"What?! She lied to me about her name? Are you fucking serious?" Naruto cursed. "But wow, am I getting beefed up!"

**Experience Gained: 178!**

"Huh?" Naruto said, scratching his head. "Why did I get more for this than I did with Itachi?"

**Probably because you beat the bitch.** Kyuubi suggested.

**Level Up! Level 4!**

**Stats gained:**

**Strength: +9!**

**Perception: +9!**

**Endurance: +8!**

**Charisma: +9!**

**Chakra: +10!**

**Intelligence: +7!**

**Agility: +8!**

**Luck: +8!**

**Bonus: Chakra Sensing: +5!**

**Bonus: Poison Skill: +4!**

"Is chakra sensing that thing you were doing to find Yanagi, fuzzface?" Naruto asked aloud.

**Yes, you idiotic ingrate, it was by using my highly developed power of detecting people through detecting their power. Though if I had access to my main senses, it would have been infant's play to locate that resistant female. **Kyuubi sneered.** Perhaps you could develop your own senses and your weakling self won't have to refer to me for the necessity of finding every being that wishes to slaughter you, mortal.**

'_Damn, does everything you say have to be an insult to me?'_

**Just as soon as you bow down to me, mortal. Maybe then I shall refer to you mockingly in every **_**other**_** sentence.**

'_Hmm, let me think: hell to the fucking no.'_ Naruto retorted.

**Interrogation: Yanagi: FAILED!**

"I did fail. I couldn't even get her name!" Naruto said, sadly shaking his head.

**Bonus: Speech: +2!**

**Bonus: Torture: +3!**

"Why did I get power-ups?"

**You learned something didn't you? And you did something you abhor, so I suppose this game's creator believes you deserve a reward for that. Pathetic gifts for pathetic people.** Kyuubi snorted.

Ignoring Kyuubi, the mass of accumulated power-ups turned into a fishcake that rushed down Naruto's throat, causing him to choke for a second before he swelled and went back to normal.

"Heh, better than ever I suppose." Naruto smirked, flexing his muscles. Still, the world hadn't returned to normal.

**CROSSOVER ELEMENT LONG-TERM QUEST AVAILABLE!**

"Oh?" Naruto curiously wondered.

**YANAGI FLED KONOHAGAKURE IN FEAR TO ABORT THE MISSION. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO FIND OUT ABOUT HER ORGANIZATION AND HER CONTRACTOR. **

**YOUR MISSION: FOLLOW HER BACK TO HER BASE OF OPERATIONS AND LEARN WHO DECIDED TO HAVE YOU KILLED. **

**BONUS: STOP THE CONTRACTOR AND ELIMINATE THE CONTRACT TO PREVENT ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS.**

**DO YOU ACCEPT?**

**YES**

**NO**

'_What do you think, Kyuubi?'_

**Do it. You may learn more about your world and be able to **_**finally**_** learn who wants you dead, besides the usual bunch.**

Naruto smashed **YES** before it exploded.

**YOU HAVE 15 MINUTES TO PREPARE FOR THE TAILING. GET TO THE MAIN GATE TO START. IF YOU ARE LATE, THE QUEST IS FAILED!**

"Oh, shit." Naruto said, paling.

**Unlocked: Save Points! If you Save, your story's progress will be recorded so that, if you die, you may restart your story from the last Save Point.**

"Thank you, Rikudo Sennin!" Naruto cheered.

**WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAVE?**

**YES**

**NO**

Naruto smashed the **YES** as if life depended on it. Which, in a way, it did.

**GAME SAVED. A SAVE POINT WILL NOW BE PLACED IN YOUR ROOM AT HOME.**

A spiral shaped pillar of light glowered at the Uchiha Compound before flickering out.

**YOUR PREPERATION TIME STARTS NOW.**

"Gotta run, gotta run!" Naruto made three Kage Bunshin: one to restock on weapons, one to restock on ramen, and one to seal up his clothes and other personal items as well as give Sasuke an excuse. He prepared to buy some more sealing scrolls, then thought for the future; he also decided to go to the library to pick up a scroll on sealing.

'_Damn, this game is on a tight schedule!'_ Naruto thought as he dashed away to his destinations.

XxX Chapter End XxX

**Here is my latest chapter and my longest one for this story to date. **

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the deviation from canon. And I bet you all will guess the Crossover Element, but in case you don't, I'll say it next chapter.**

**Naruto Uzumaki's Total Current Stats (Chapter 4)**

**Strength: 16 (7) = 27**

**Perception: 19 (3) = 25**

**Endurance: 9 (7) = 15**

**Charisma: 11 (7) = 19**

**Chakra: 14 (5) = 21**

**Intelligence: 33 (2) = 40**

**Agility: 18 (3) = 23**

**Luck: 14 (6) = 22**

**Poison skill: +19 (Base Stat: 12)**

**Chakra Sensing: +23 (Base Stat: 18)**

**Trapping: +33 (Base Stat: 30)**

**Speech: +27 (Base Stat: 25)**

**Torture: +15 (Base Stat: 12)**

_Techniques List (A/N: Almost all techniques will be original jutsu)_

(1): Fuuton: Ranryu (Wind Release: Turbulence) E-C Rank.

Technique Description: User releases and applies chakra to air to influence or strengthen the wind. Mainly used to blow projectiles, such as kunai and shuriken, away from target. Theoretically, it can be used to completely redirect projectiles right back at target, but great chakra costs would be required.

(2): Katon: Moeru Tejun (Fire Release: Blazing Steps) D-C Rank.

Technique Description: See above.

(3): Katon: Osoi Rosuto (Fire Release: Slow Roast) C-B Rank.

Technique Description: User channels chakra into victim while kneading it as they would a fire jutsu. The injected chakra burns victims from the inside out (not literally). Torture Jutsu.

**Read and review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**King, signing out.**


	5. Shinobi One Day, Assassin The Next

**Naruto: Fishcake Chronicles: Chapter 5**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Assassin's Creed or any videogame for that matter. And I don't own Majin's or Chibi's stories. I'm simply making my own. Oh yeah, the original characters, THEY'RE MINE FUCKERS!**

**Welcome back! I'm your host HKN and I'm bringing YOU, my readers, another chapter of Fishcake Chronicles.**

**But before I do that, it's time to start the **_**Review Response!**_

**Review 1:**

_Hey man PLEASE as Naruto gets smarter can you make him realize that he IS A FUCKING NINJA A NOT A MEMBER OF THE PEACE CORP!? SEROUISLY NARUTO YOU ARE THE BIGEST BLONDE IN THE MULTIVERSE! YOU ARE A NINJA YOU KILL, YOU STEAL, AND YOU TOURTURE FOR YOUR COUNTRY! Hey he doesn't have to be all cold like Itachi but make him like Kakashi in that he is this cool likable guy normally but cold and percise killer. PEACE_

_NIX'S WARDEN_

**Relax, man, relax. There will be an "end to innocence" in this. He will be his own person with a time and place for mission mode. That will come soon. **

**Review 2: **

_I think it would be interesting if you could make a pairing with the oc, Yanagi, with naruto mainly because it would be interesting to see how they would interact with eachother and that for sasuke's sanity it would be more fun than a narutoxsakura or narutoxino pairing_

_Shadowninja123_

**Yes, when I started to make her, I began to think that. There will be more on that later, though. You just gotta wait.**

**Review 3:**

_awesome, i like that your using your own ideas for this fic and have only taken the base idea from the others that you got the story idea from._

_ScrimjaNinja_

**Thank you very much. I have tried very hard to make this my own type of story from this base idea. It's nice to know that someone thinks that.**

**Review 4 (chapter 3) **(GREAT! TWO FROM THE SAME GUY!)**:**

_Naruto x Anko is my favourite pairing, im kinda sad that shes not on the pairing list._

_ScrimjaNinja_

**I really think she is hot. But she if she had a relationship with Naruto, it would be more on the level of teacher-student or… friends with benefits (no offence intended to female readers!). So, sorry you feel that way.**

**Review 5:**

_This fic is getting better & better the more I read your good. I'm the guy who voted for NaruSaku that reviewed before. I'm impressed with your fic not many people could make a good game fic your one of a kind._

_Guest #1_

**Thank you very much. It's kinda nice that you think that and thank you for identifying yourself. Jeez, I feel like a real author with all the compliments I'm getting!**

**Review 6:**

_is team 7 going to be the same?_

_Time echoes_

**I won't tell you… but, **

**(SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!)**

**yes.**

**(SPOILER END! SPOILER END! SPOILER END!)**

**Review 7:**

_cool story! I vote NaruSaku_

_Guest #2_

**Thanks for the compliment and your vote, buddy.**

**Review 8:**

_nice chapter_

_Quinn1989_

**Not much of a talker are ya? Well, thanks for the compliment.**

**Review 9 (chapter 1):**

_You know this didn't occur to until now, but why not have multiple pairing for Naruto? Dependeing on your playthorughs, you could reset Naruto with whomever. IT would certainly make repeats more different from each other._

_Reader56_

**Yeah, as I have told a good few people, I have been thinking about multiple pairings. I shall say what will at the end of the chapter.**

**Review 10:**

_hmm. i like that you keep with the videogame concept. most vg stories just power up naruto and leave it. also why does naruto not read more books? makes no sense._

_Lednacek_

**Thanks. I try to include at least one aspect every chapter, if I can. And I don't believe in instant power-ups; it's not good for the story or the development. And he doesn't read more books because he finds them boring, except jutsu scrolls. Don't worry, he'll grow out of that habit.**

**Review 11:**

_Well, I hate that so far this story involves too much Uchiha. But I do love this type of story. I also like what stats are being upgraded. I imagine when he starts fighting actual ninja he will also get bonuses geared towards elemental training, chakra control, and the different skill bases ninjutsu, genjutsu, tiajutsu, etc._

_I am wondering if this poison skill is leading towards a bloodline ability? Always loved dokushu, sad none of those stories have been update in a long time. _

_And I hope he decides to get a much cooler summons than Toads this time around and ditch Sakura sooner._

_As for girl well I'll vote in the poll but for the record my main choice is Fem Haku. Always believed she was the best pairing possible for Naruto._

_Wyrtha_

**Gee, this is long. Umm… okay, I'll try to answer this in order.**

**I'm sorry you feel this way about the Uchiha but the main bad guy in the manga **_**is**_** an Uchiha, so they kinda have a big role. I'm glad you like my stat system and, yes, there will be stats, not for chakra control or bases, but for elemental training. There will be bonuses for the various –jutsu.**

**I actually wondered when someone would ask about the poison; no, it won't be leading to a bloodline. What it refers to is how skilled Naruto is at usage of poisons (potency, creation, making new types) and his resistance of poison. As his skill goes up, he will get better at both resisting and using poisons, not have a poison bloodline. Though I've never read a Dokushu fic… sounds interesting.**

**I will have a poll eventually for having a second summons or not; he **_**will**_** have Toads. And Sakura is losing, don't worry. Finally, thanks for your vote.**

**Review 12:**

_this is really good i also say go with ino ne_

_irnzenmonk_

**Thanks for the compliment and thank you for your vote.**

**Review 13:**

_i am rooting for Naruto Temari, i mean in my version of canon its like this:_

_Super smooth suave sexy naruto (wow that is a lot of ss): So Temari, I somehow gave your brother back his humanity and brought him back from the dead. Do you wanna... I dunno go out on a date sometime?_

_Temari: Well, since you asked... sure! let me just touch up on a few things._

_Honestly a lot of these girls would do out with naruto due to hero worship... except for sakura and ino... unless you somehow take out their abusive tendencies._

_cmcwiki_

**Hmm, thanks for your vote. And your version of canon, although sounds cool, it would require a **_**lot**_** of changes to canon. Still, I kinda like the reason for the acceptance. And the hero worship would be either the female Daimyos or after Pain. **

**On the issue of Sakura and Ino,**

**(SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!)**

**people can change.**

**(SPOILER END! SPOILER END! SPOILER END!)**

**Review 14 (chapter 3):**

_Great work with the talke with the Hokagae in this chapter. It was intresting how he did the talk with him. _

_I am honest your explainatin on the stats have me even more confused._

_Deathmvp_

**Thanks, I tried to make use of the Hokage's kind character. However, with further involvement, his character will show him more as a stronger person.**

**On the topic of stats, I'm not too sure what you are confused about except perhaps you don't understand the stats in the parentheses. In Fallout, those are the primary statistics. They are ranked from 1 – 10 and I tried to set them fairly. They affect the overall stats in this story.**

**Review 15:**

_Nice work here. I liked that you cleaned up the stats in this chapter better. _

_I do hope that Naruto will help Tenten with out her knowing. What I mean is in a spar set it up one time that he is using the wind justus to mess her up. This way when the exam comes up it will not be so one sided._

_Deathmvp_

**Thank you, and I kinda had to as even I couldn't understand them myself. **

**And with Tenten, well, Naruto is her friend. And what kind of person would Naruto be if would allow his friends to get their asses torn to shreds? Certainly not a good one.**

**Review 16:**

_The crossover element is a welcome change , it make you uniquecompare to other authors . A question , how often do you allow Naruto to save his progress ? Will it only after a certain point , like a check point , or will you will let him abuse it ? And the pairing , i see your point about Naruto/Temari pairing ; the Hinata pairing sound almost like ' a must ' and it make it less challenge ; Ino and/or Sakura may be easier bacause now Sasuke is a pretty boy with a tragic past instead of being a emo-pretty boy with tragedy past ; Shion is a combination of Hinta's love to Naruto and the difficult to write for being a foreigner ; I don't see much of Yakumo/Naruto story so it hard to say . But what about Kin or Tayuya being a POW and Naruto agree to rescue/custody them , or Karin being rescue by Naruto instead of Sasuke in the Chunnin Exam arc ( or so the wikia said , i don't remember seeing it ) . The possibility is so much and you should keep a open mind about it ._

_Thanlong90_

**Thanks for the compliment about the crossover element. And, well, he'll have to save wherever he has one, especially in critical times. No abuse. And since I really don't want to read all that now, especially since the pairing poll is already over. **

**Review 16:**

_i love stories like this where his life is a game and i like how ur bringing in the crossover element and my vote woulda been Naru/Haku cant wait for u to update_

_NarutoXNodokaXYueFan _

**Well, NNYF, I see you like Naruto-Negima Crossovers. I like Negima, too. Back to the matter at hand, I'm glad people like my idea of a crossover element. Thank's for your vote but the poll is over.**

**HOLY CRAP! Now that I actually have the pairing poll finish, I cannot believe this many people voted. THANK YOU ALL!**

**The winner of the poll was Haku!**

**1****st****: Haku – 29**

**2****nd****: Temari – 28**

**3****rd****: Yakumo – 23**

**4****th****: Shion, Hinata, Ino – 19**

**5****th****: Sakura – 6**

**This was freakin' close!**

**Phew, there were a lot of reviews! Now, time for the next chapter!**

**XxX Chapter 5: Shinobi One Day, Assassin The Next XxX**

XxX Chapter Begin XxX

Yanagi quickly began to scale the Wall of Konoha, once again, to make her escape. Below, unseen by her, Naruto was panting heavily as he had barely made it.

He had just _barely_ made the fifteen-minute time limit. What kind of fucked part of a game was that?

His three Kage Bunshin that he made fifteen minutes ago, were doubled over, panting as well as they handed him the stuff he had asked for: weapons, clothes, and food.

Quickly, he sealed them into separate scrolls and put the in his backpack. Naruto quickly punched his clones and processed the memories that they had sent back.

Particularly, he analyzed the memories of the one that had given Sasuke an excuse for his period of absence.

XxX Flashback XxX

_The clone had just finished packing and sealing the original Naruto's clothes and personal items in scrolls before putting them in the pack. Once he had finished, he went out to the training field where Sasuke was practicing his newest jutsu, the Housenka. _

"_Yo, duckbutt!" the Kage Bunshin called out._

_Sasuke turned to it, scowling at the nickname, and asked, "What?"_

"_Since the academy's out for summer, I've decided to take a more practical approach at being a shinobi." Seeing Sasuke's questioning raised eyebrow, he continued, "I'm going camping for a while."_

"_Okay. How long are you gonna be gone?" Sasuke asked._

"_Until my training is done."_

"_What! That's too vague; give me a number, dobe." Sasuke shouted._

"_Sixty-nine."_

"_You know that's not what I meant."_

"_I don't know myself, okay? I'll be all over the training grounds, maybe even some of the restricted ones. You can try to find me, but you won't be able to find me." The Kage Bunshin reasoned._

"_But who'll be my sparring partner? I need someone to fight against." _

_Naruto hadn't pulled any pranks in a while and he was _dying_ to pull one. Why not one on Sasuke? Besides, in the long run, this would be good for both of them; Sasuke would get stronger and Naruto would have a more challenging sparring partner._

_Naruto would also have a huge laugh at Sasuke's expense. But nothing ventured, nothing gained._

"_Oh, look for a jounin named Maito Gai. He's _great_."_

_Kage Bunshin-Naruto left with a devious smirk on his face, running to deliver the original's items._

XxX Flashback End XxX

Naruto blinked and chuckled on the inside. Even his clones were as devious as himself. Still, no time for that now.

Naruto waited until Yanagi jumped off the wall before scaling the wall himself, walking straight up it. When he reached the top, he couldn't see her; all he found was a leaving caravan that had a few carts, one loaded down with hay.

**She's in the hay, you buffoon. How else could she have survived the jump?** Kyuubi butted in.

Naruto nodded in agreement before running down the wall himself, transforming into a young, ragged child. Struggling to catch up with the caravan as he ran to it, he finally managed to reach it and climb onto the moving carriage, covering himself with a tarp.

XxX

A day or two later, the caravan, having made very good time, reached the nearest merchant town. Naruto groggily got out of the cart, still transformed into a child, when he saw Yanagi dash out of the hay cart.

Quickly, he pursued her west, her not knowing he was following him.

After all, this was the kid that evaded ANBU.

They ran, day and night, for a day and a half straight. Naruto was amazed that Yanagi could keep going. After all, if he, a stamina freak, was tired, surely she would be exhausted. It was only due to the minute amounts of Kyuubi's power he drew upon that he could keep going. He was so wired, Naruto didn't even know where Yanagi was going and where he was following her.

He didn't notice that they had passed the borderland of the Land of Wind.

XxX

"Is it just me," Naruto cursed over the roaring desert winds, "or are we in Suna?"

**What gave it away? Was it the sky? Was it the sun? Hmm… or perhaps, IT'S THE FUCKING DESERT AROUND US!** Kyuubi roared angrily.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your tails in a bunch, you overgrown rug!"

Luckily, Kyuubi had managed to keep track Yanagi's scent. Even more luckily, she had only been heading southwest so Naruto just kept trudging that way until the fox said otherwise. Of course, it had been hours since the fox did say otherwise.

**Brat!** Kyuubi said, coming to attention, **She's heading simply south now! I believe we are almost there.**

"I can finally get some rest," Naruto moaned. "Why did she have to run me ragged?"

He bore south then and made to sure to stay true to find Yanagi.

XxX

A few hours later, Naruto was out of the hot desert wind. He wished he could just collapse onto the sand but he couldn't. Not when he could still be detected.

'_This sucks.'_

**Stop complaining, brat. Look, you're almost there.**

Naruto looked up and saw Yanagi blindly stumbling about, heading to a outcropping of mountains with a small town on the other side of it. She went forward a few steps before stumbling and finally collapsing. Naruto began to pick himself up and help her before Kyuubi's voice rumbled in his mind once more.

**Don't. She obviously collapsed here not just because she couldn't keep going. It may be that her associates are here for her. Stay hidden and then follow them if they do pick her up. **

'_Fine, but I'm gonna need another shot of your chakra to keep moving.'_ Naruto thought quite wearily, fighting back the urge to yawn.

**Weak brat.** A rush of great power overcame Naruto, putting his tired senses into an overdrive of sorts as his eyes refocused on Yanagi.

It must've been an hour, or at least felt like an hour, before something entered his range of perception. A bulky white robed figure, like Yanagi, stepped up to her and picked her up before running towards the mountains.

Naruto followed them, straining to stay sneaky and to catch up. By the time he reached the outcropping of mountains, they were out of sight.

**There is nowhere to go but up. So start climbing brat! **Kyuubi growled.

Naruto groaned.

Why him?

XxX

'_You are a motherfucker, Kyuubi.'_ Naruto growled to the fox. He was high up and more exhausted than a donkey carrying the entire Akimichi family combined for hours. Naruto didn't dare relax.

He knew if he did, he'd plummet to his death.

**Well, they were begging for it brat.** Kyuubi said, wickedly grinning. Naruto rolled his eyes with a little blush on his cheeks.

'_YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!'_ Naruto shouted on the inside. He pulled himself up one more handhold and threw himself up, panting all the while.

**What could I expect from an idiot with that? Besides, didn't you forget that you could walk up walls?**

Naruto paused in his panting to take a deep breath –

XxX

A woman in the town snapped her head towards the mountain range and she covered her little son's ears.

What kind of thug would shout such profanity so loudly? Especially explicit enough that she blushed.

"Mommy, what do those words mean?" her son asked. The woman groaned.

It was one challenge after another being a parent.

XxX

Naruto panted heavily once more.

**Despite the use of your… colorful language, it's not my fault your mind is so incompetent. **The nine-tailed monster chuckled.

'_Kyuubi… just shut the fuck up right now.'_ Naruto thought tiredly. He closed his eyes, about to fall asleep…

Naruto's eyes snapped open. He quickly hid behind a boulder right as he heard a crumble.

"… Yeah, yeah, I'm going. Sheesh, she wants me to check out what profanity scared the kids? Probably one of those drunk guys finally got them chopped off." Muttered someone. From the very slight look that Naruto had, it appeared the person that came out was one of the ones that were wearing the white robes. Naruto's eyes widened. The person had to go on patrol. Now was his chance to get inside!

Naruto quickly transformed into a mouse and crept on to where the man had come from. Apparently, a small boulder had been pulled from the mountain face by some door connected to… well, something. Naruto crawled on into the hideout and dug his way through one of the hay bales inside the dark place.

Naruto Uzumaki's solid Henge for the win.

After a few minutes, the man walked on inside, looking slightly ticked. "Mentor!" he called. "There is nobody out there! Perhaps your source of streaming swears comes from the village."

"Or, perhaps you are still a _chun lu_, novice Azrael. I don't believe that there isn't someone out there. Now go out and find them!" A feminine voice retorted coolly.

The man grumbled as he headed back outside to try to find our blond-haired hero.

If Naruto could smirk in mouse form, he would. Once again, he had done something that made him laugh (inwardly; he wouldn't dare do it now) at someone else's expense.

Life was good.

Sadly, that sentiment would cease to be in mind for much longer.

Naruto crawled along the floor; sneaking into the room he had heard the voice come from. Inside, there was a dojo of some sorts inside the mountain hideout where several teens were training in what appeared to be throwing knives. However, the knives didn't look like kunai knives.

Before he could contemplate that much more, Naruto's transformation burst into a puff of white smoke as he released the Henge to avoid a knife that would have pierced his head, had he not let go of his form. His jaw dropped as he looked up at the owner of the knife.

The woman's arm was extended in a throwing motion and she appeared to be a teenage woman where dark, covering robes, which didn't cover her face that had an expression between a smirk, surprise, and slight indifference.

Naruto did the only thing that he could at that moment:

He passed out from exhaustion.

The last thing he heard was the man that went out coming back in and the woman standing in place with a now-apparent smirk on her face, as she repeated, "_Chun lu._"

XxX

'_Ugh…'_ Naruto shifted around a bit as he lifted his head and rubbed his eyes, trying to erase any vestiges of sleep.

He blinked his eyes rapidly, the area coming into view.

Naruto was in a cavern that had a bed he was lying on. Actually, it was just a mattress with a pillow. The wall had a hole to the outside, the sky dark and filled with stars.

"How long was I out…?" Naruto muttered to himself.

**Shut up, mongrel. It has been six hours.**

Just as he asked himself that, a dark robed figure appeared to fall from the ceiling, eliciting a start from Naruto.

"What the hell!" A dark robed figure with their hood hiding their face from view stood there in front of him. And as he regained his bearings, he could have sworn the figure smirked at him.

"You have risen, grasshopper. Perhaps you could tell me why you followed my student back here? It would be better for you than the alternative of torture and a _slow_, painful death." It was the feminine voice from before!

But damn, was her threat scary.

**Do not talk out of turn, lest we end up full of unnecessary holes, human. **Kyuubi interjected.

"Er, um, yes master." Naruto stammered.

She was probably smirking again.

"Right, so, Yanagi –"

"How do you know her name?" the robed woman interrupted, her voice turning dangerous. Naruto gulped heavily.

"I-I just –"

**Don't lie badly, brat. **

Naruto sighed. "I came upon her name by chance, okay? I can't even explain, its like a voice in my head told me that name."

The woman paused. When he didn't continue, she motioned with her hand to go on.

"I was in my home village and went to train when she attacked me! I don't know why, I didn't do anything! I don't know why somebody would want me dead." Naruto explained.

"So… you are Naruto Uzumaki? Yanagi's contract?" He nodded, causing her to chuckle. "I should kill you right now," she said, causing Naruto to tense and try to grab for a kunai.

"Don't try it; I have kept your weapons away from your possession." She saw him scowl and continued, "I should kill you… but I won't. If you could survive Yanagi _and_ tail her to our headquarters then that means one of two things. One," she rose a slender, gloved finger.

"You are a child soldier, sent to destroy our organization. Or two," she rose another finger to accompany the first, "you are… something else. How did you survive Yanagi and why are you here?"

"Well, it was tough, but when she attacked me, I managed to trap her and knock her out before I tried to interrogate her. Obviously," he said, ending with a scowl, "I need more work at it. After that, I just followed her here."

The woman sat on a chair at his bedside, processing everything. "I see… it seems she needs more training and a demerit for violating the third Tenet. And you still didn't answer my question." She paused before asking him, with real intensity:

"Why are you here?"

Naruto paused. He _did _want to find out who wanted to kill him and beat them up so bad, that they'd be eating their food pre-chewed. But…

Yanagi was very strong. And she wasn't even a ninja! If he didn't have Kyuubi or if it was almost anybody else, they'd be long since dead.

Maybe…

"I," Naruto said, pausing, making up his mind, "I came here for two reasons. You know the first already, but also came for something else." Naruto turned his head up to stare at what he _thought_ was the robed figure's face, fire in his eyes.

"I wish to learn, Mentor."

The woman was slightly shocked. He wished to learn? He wished to learn the way of her brotherhood? Still, this one… '_He could be the one. My apprentice. The person to spread our name in this foreign land.'_

"Very well." She shook her head. "You shall learn and you will be one of our finest, Apprentice Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto gave a great big grin and nodded his head in happiness. "Thank you! You won't regret this, um… I'm sorry sensei, but could you please gimme your name?"

The woman began to laugh, almost like how pealing bells were; beautifully. She moved her hands to her robe and pulled down her hood.

Naruto's jaw dropped.

She appeared to be a teenager and had a beautiful, angular, almost regal face. Her eyes were dark and her raven-like hair came down with a slight luster. Her mouth was pulled into a smirk.

"My name is Shao Jun and I am the Mentor, Master Assassin of our Order."

XxX

"We are the Assassins. In this life of ours, we must end the lives of those who are corrupt to bring the commoners peace and security. Repeat for me our three Tenets, students." Shao Jun intoned to the room of apprentices. Naruto sat cross-legged among them.

"Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent. Hide in plain sight. Never compromise the Brotherhood." The white robed students replied.

"Our Maxim, my students." The Master Assassin continued, growing slightly more passionate.

"Nothing is true; everything is permitted." The students replied, equally passionate. Only Naruto sat unclothed in white robes, and he didn't understand the meaning behind the last phrase.

"Keep these ideals in your mind. You shall be great if you do. And now, we must end for the night. Get some sleep and prepare for the next day. We are adjourned." Shao Jun made a motion of dismissal for the other students, who immediately left.

Naruto got up but didn't leave. "I see you do not comprehend the meaning of our motto. But that doesn't matter at this point; now, you must learn of the Tenets and apply them. When you learn more, you will be able to comprehend. But for now," Shao Jun spoke, leaving the room to go to another, "you will learn from our tomes."

She walked on to one of the dens, entering. There was a large shelf containing a great number of books, which from Naruto's estimate, seemed to hold about fifty or sixty scrolls and books.

"These scrolls and books tell about how to assassinate people, poison usage, and other things. I want you to read _all _of these books by first light."

"What?!" Naruto screeched.

"Oh right, I forgot," Shao Jun said, her smirk growing even wider, "The majority of the scrolls are in my original tongue, which means they are in a different language."

Naruto sputtered and stammered in denial. "B-b-bu-What?"

"Oh, but don't worry. There's a guide in there to translate and learn the tongue. However, you may want to do it quick." Shao Jun's smirk grew to Cheshire proportions with a _very _sadistic air.

"For every hour after sundown that you don't finish reading the books, you will have to climb up to the peak of the mountain from here five times up and down and on the fifth time, you will pick a dozen of the blue flowers at the peak as proof."

Naruto began foaming at the mouth in shock and fear, his eyes widening.

Finally, Shao Jun gave him a sweet, sweet innocent smile. "Oh… and you have about three hours until dawn. The sun rises quite soon here, so get started."

Naruto didn't respond; he merely fell to the floor, unconscious. Shao gave a rare giggle as she walked to her den to sleep. '_I guess he'll learn about the harshness of our regime. He'll have to learn my other lesson, too.'_

XxX

**WAKE THE FUCK UP NOW, YOU USELESS PILE OF SHIT!**

"Nyah! Tiger seal, scale of four, Kawarimi!" Naruto shouted as he bolted awake.

**You have two hours until dawn, you pile of shit! Start reading the books!**

"Shit! I can't finish so many books!" Naruto panicked.

**Use your clones, you imbecile!**

"Oh, right! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted. About a hundred clones poofed into existence.

"Okay, start reading! You!" he pointed to a large group of clones. "Start reading the scrolls I can understand. And you!" Naruto pointed to the remaining clones. "Start learning the new tongue! And after that, read the books! GO!" Naruto shouted.

"Hai!" the clones replied, all grabbing books and scrolls off the shelves.

Naruto himself grabbed a book as well. Luckily, it was one of the ones in his language and apparently, it was about human anatomy.

A few minutes later, he had a bit of a headache.

What it detailed was the places where the body was weakest, such as points of death, paralysis, or of sleep. Apparently, there were places where joints and nerves were most sensitive to breaking or damaging and there were pressure points that, when hit, could do great damage or death to people. Subconsciously, he remembered that Haku had done such to save Zabuza.

Naruto grinned. He was totally gonna learn this!

XxX Seven Hours Later… XxX

Naruto flopped to the floor, dead tired. It didn't help that he had dispelled a ton of Kage Bunshin over the time that he had started and finished.

Three hours after he began reading, the original Naruto and the clones finished reading their various texts; the ones who were learning Shao Jun's language finished studying enough to decipher her books and the clones who were reading the native scrolls finished their readings as well. However, he had figured something out with Kyuubi's help.

When Naruto was about to tell his clones that learned Shao Jun's language to study the books, Kyuubi stopped him, telling him to "dispel your foreign-tongue clones and force your other dimwitted selves to read the books".

Naruto had learned that most of the time, Kyuubi was had reason to order him about so he listened and told the clones to stab themselves at once.

He had learned two things then.

The first was that clones that studied transmitted information to not just the original but also the clones.

And second, dispelling a bunch of clones at once _really_ made his head feel like it had been on the wrong of a Tsunade-punch.

As a result, he flopped over clutching his head and his clones did the same. After about twenty minutes, the pain finally subsided and his clones began to read the rest of the books.

Four hours later, he was done.

Learning from his previous mistake, Naruto dispelled his clones periodically and actually began to process all the information he had received.

Still, with the clones' memories came exhaustion and he would've gotten a chance to sleep and _then_ figure out his memories when –

THUMP!

"Ow! Why'd you kick me in the head?" Naruto cried out, clutching his head, which Shao Jun had hit.

"Because one must always remain alert for threats."

"I was up for ten hours reading nothing but books!"

The Assassin snorted. "Enemies won't care about that."

Naruto gave her a glare. "Sadistic bitch…" he muttered.

Shao Jun's eyes glinted evilly. "Oh, what was that?"

"Nothing!" Naruto shouted frantically.

" Did you say that you wanted an extra ten climbs to the peak? Alright," she said, causing Naruto to splutter in denial, "if you want to, then you can have ten extra climbs!"

He hung his head in resignation, the Fox's laughter echoing in his head.

"Tell me, what is this book about?" Naruto turned to Shao Jun who was holding a scroll one of his clones had read. He thought for a minute, the information in his head finally settling and sorting out, with help from the Kyuubi.

"That scroll is for a beginner's knowledge of botany, but its mostly plants that you can eat and other properties."

"Alright, what about this?" Shao Jun picked up a tiny leather book and pointed to it. Naruto thought again.

"That's… a book in your language about the game called chess. It's not as popular here in the Elemental Nations but its like Go and Shogi. I think you made me read it to…" Naruto paused. "You wanted me to learn tactics?"

Slowly, Naruto began to understand the reasons that his Mentor made him read all the books and scrolls.

The books all seemed to be on a variety of topics, such as botany, blacksmithing, making medicine or, alternatively, poison, and tactics. What she had said before…

Shao Jun told him he would learn about assassination. However, it seemed the majority of these topics didn't have a link to it unless the reader made one.

Botany could be used to make his poisons for his weapons. With blacksmithing, he could maintain his weapons and even make new ones. After all, even the slightest difference in the sharpness of an edge could make a difference.

Shao Jun was trying to make him into a jack-of-all-trades.

Seeing the contemplative look on Naruto's face, Shao Jun asked, "Do you understand the lesson now?" When Naruto nodded, she continued. "Then you must realize that I know how you read all those books. And you must realize something too."

"Knowledge is power." She said. "Whenever you can find information, learn it. I would recommend you copy it down to improve accuracy of information and being able to pass on information to any students or family you may have."

"Whenever you are in a library, make great use of it! Copy down the information and learn it so that you will know everything. Imagine," she said, voice getting stronger, "Having all the knowledge in the world at your fingertips. It would be a great boon. And this is only legend, but it is said that the acolytes of Benzaiten have worked to accumulate all the world's knowledge in it. Jutsu, history, a variety of topics; everything in the palm of your hand!"

Naruto was dumbfounded. He had no idea his clones were so useful!

"Also," Shao Jun said, looking at him, "they could be used for reconnaissance. Can you believe it; a spy that cannot be caught!" she crowed.

"I… am awesome." Naruto whispered. Shao Jun scoffed at that.

"Not so awesome that you can escape scaling the mountain. C'mon big man, you're gonna climb. Oh," she said, her voice suddenly getting sweeter, "if you walk up the walls like I know ninja do, I'll multiply the amount you have to climb by ten!"

Naruto heavily paled before he ran the fuck away from Shao Jun, who, although wanting to cackle, a deep, thoughtful expression spread across her face. "Breakfast is available in the catacomb at the far end." She called.

It wasn't that he had stayed up all night or the fact that he had such a powerful tool at his disposal for someone so young.

It was that Yanagi had finally awoken from her long trek.

XxX Flashback XxX

"_She has woken up, Mentor." Rei, who was the best Assassin-medic Shao Jun had under her command, declared._

_Shao Jun took a seat next to Yanagi's cot. She watched as the young girl's eyes fluttered open. "Mentor." Yanagi whispered. _

"_Rest, young one. How did your contract go?" Shao Jun inquired, though already knowing what happened._

_Yanagi coughed before the Master Assassin gave her some water to clear her throat. "From my analysis of Konohagakure, the beginning ninjas don't know many jutsu until after they graduate at the age of thirteen or so." She paused._

"_My target knew more than graduated shinobi did. Naruto Uzumaki was a nine-year-old boy and already he fought like a seasoned shinobi. Naruto defeated me, even as I had the element of surprise."_

"_Why run away, then? Why not retreat into the shadows and strike another day?" Shao Jun interjected._

_Yanagi shook her head frantically. "When he attempted torture and interrogation on me, he could not go through with it. Naruto let me go and once again, I attempted to fulfill my contract. However," Yanagi replied, swallowing heavily at the end, "something happened."_

"_And what was that something?" _

"_The boy normally has blue eyes. But when he turned his head to me… they were red." She shivered. "At that moment, there was an unbelievable powerful and dominating aura about him. Being near him filled me with so much fear, so much helplessness. It was unbearable to be around him." Yanagi hesitated before continuing._

"_I believe he is a Jinchuuriki."_

_Shao Jun frowned. Though she had not been in the Elemental Nations long, she what the term meant. "Power of sacrifice." The boy she was now teaching had a demon of mass destruction sealed away in him?_

"_I see… in any case, you must get more rest, though I have some bad news for you." Yanagi deflated at hearing that but remained at attention._

"_Whatever you say, Mentor."_

_Shao Jun spoke, steel, conviction, and power, "You have broken one of Tenets of the Creed. Yanagi, as my power as Master Assassin and Mentor allows me, you are demoted and now at the rank of novice Assassin once more."_

_Yanagi clutched the blankets, her tanned knuckles paling slightly at the force. "As you wish, Mentor." She ground out._

_Shao Jun's eyes softened. "I don't like this any more than you do, but that's the way it is. Get some rest, Yanagi."_

_As Shao Jun stood up to leave, Yanagi called, "Wait." Shao Jun turned to her and saw her struggling to push herself up._

"_Before you leave Mentor, I must ask for clarification: Which Tenet did I break?" _

_A shadow passed over Shao Jun's face. "You have compromised the Brotherhood and allowed your target, Naruto Uzumaki, to follow you and find us." Yanagi's eyes widened considerably as she gasped._

"_Be grateful that he merely wished to learn who targeted him and wanted to join our organization. Had it been anybody else, our Brotherhood may not be here today."_

_Shao Jun left the room and Yanagi, the latter to her thoughts. _

XxX Flashback End XxX

Shao Jun watched Naruto shoveling down food after she had brought him the robes of the Brotherhood.

If Yanagi had never told her, Shao Jun would never have guessed that the young blond was a demon container. Still, there was only one thing to do about it.

Call him out on his status.

XxX

**Dear devils, I have seen some disgusting shit, but this definitely takes one of the layers of the cake.**

Kyuubi was, of course, referring to Naruto's atrocious shoveling of food into his gullet.

'_Only one of the layers?_' Naruto thought as he threw a bowl of soup into his mouth.

**You forget; I am eons of age and a demon at that. There is **_**always**_** something worse. And in my existence, there has been far worse.**

Naruto gave the equivalency of a mental shrug as he continued to stuff himself with food in preparation for the thirty-five times he would ascend the mountain.

"Naruto," called Shao Jun. "I have something I wish to ask you."

He turned his head up, the Assassin's face unreadable as he tried to figure out what she needed to ask.

"You're a jinchuuriki."

A mixture of emotions passed over his face as she dropped a bomb. Suddenly, Naruto wasn't hungry anymore.

He bowed his head, not letting her see his eyes. "That wasn't a question," Naruto spoke softly.

"That may be, but you didn't answer me." Shao Jun replied, her voice getting softer as well, with something he couldn't detect.

"Why would you ask that?" came the whisper of the blond-haired hero.

Shao Jun hesitated before continuing, "Because Yanagi is awake. And because she told me of the end of your fight, how you let her go." She pulled off her hood, the Assassin's eyes filled with a measure of softness that normally seemed absent from the woman.

"You made her leave for her own safety." Naruto finally pulled his head up and his eyes were slightly colder.

"Yes," he spat out bitterly, "if you want to do this, fine. Yes, I let her go. Yes, I am a jinchuuriki. Yes, I used the Kyuubi's power to get her to leave me be."

Naruto finally looked into her eyes and she was slightly shocked. They were an unnatural dark color.

"You know what the term means? I am a weapon. I am a weapon of human sacrifice." Naruto angrily finished, clenching his fists.

"Power of human sacrifice…?" she whispered. Then, she scoffed, "It is an ill fitting term."

Naruto looked up, eyes a blue tempest that were almost angry as Neji's when he had fought Hinata. "How so?" he growled.

Shao Jun's eyes grew even darker than his. "You know nothing of sacrifice."

Naruto's eyes grew angrier and his pupil flickered between slit and round, but before he could burst into anger, Shao Jun continued.

"Do not act as if you know sacrifice." Her voice was enraged, eyes burning with hate, pain, and many other bad memories. "You know nothing."

Naruto's eyes widened in anger and he roared, "I am a jinchuuriki; I _am _–"

" – the power of human sacrifice," Shao Jun cut in, "No, you are the _result_ of human sacrifice."

She stepped toward him, towering over him as her eyes burned with an iciness, "You sacrificed nothing. The people that gave their lives to seal the beast away in you, _they_ are the ones who sacrificed themselves for you."

Flashes of Naruto's memories swam in his vision. How his mother and father risked everything, how his father had gave his soul to the Shinigami, all for him.

"You may be hated or you may not – but that isn't sacrifice. That is what came with your fate."

"And what do you know of sacrifice?" Naruto retorted, unable to keep the twisting venom in him at Shao Jun.

"I was born a concubine to my king." Naruto jerked back at her words. "Until I was sixteen, I served my liege's will, being nothing but his toy."

"I escaped. My Mentor took me away from my home. _Three years_ we ran and were pursued. Then," she said, voice breaking as pain began to show in her eyes, "they found us, just as we reached our destination. He left himself behind just to let me get away. I live now because of his sacrifice. I saw him do it, watched him get cut down, all for my sake."

"I have seen sacrifice and I have sacrificed as well. Do not presume that your tragic story is the only one out there. After all," she chuckled bitterly, "everything can be worse."

Shao Jun tossed the robes to him and turned away. "Wear these and go. Climb up the mountains and do not forget the blue flowers on the peak. I expect you to climb thirty-five times up and down and remember to bring a dozen every five times. I expect that you will have eighty-four when you are done."

Shao Jun left the room, leaving Naruto to his thoughts.

Before he could really think about her words, as even Kyuubi was silent, once again, the Videogame decided to make its presence known at the worst of opportunities. The world faded to black and white as words appeared in front of him.

**LONG-TERM QUEST OBJECTIVE COMPLETED: 'Follow Yanagi!'**

"Jeez, it's been a whole two days. I would hope that this thing wouldn't be as late as Kakashi-sensei is." Naruto ground out irritably.

**Experience Gained: 203!**

"Dang, even more than when I faught Yanagi!" Naruto cheered.

**Test: Completed! 'Read Assassin Library!' Gained +16 intelligence! Bonus: Poison skill: +6!**

"Whoo hoo! Soon, people won't be calling me an idiot!"

**No, they still will.** Kyuubi jeered.

**Gained +11 endurance!**

**Gained +8 perception!**

**Bonus: Chakra Sensing: +4!**

**Bonus: Speech: +3!**

**Bonus: Stealth: +8!**

"Sneakier, speechier, sensier, whatever! Naruto Uzumaki rules!"

**Skill: Herbalism: Unlocked! +4!**

**Skill: Blacksmithing: Unlocked! +5!**

**Skill: Skinning: Unlocked! +3!**

**Skill: Leatherworking: Unlocked! +4!**

**Skill: Tailoring: Unlocked! +3!**

**Skill: Engineering: Unlocked! +5!**

"What? I'm guessing a learnt quite a bit about other trades through those books," Naruto smirked, although slightly disappointed as he had yet to fully process all the gained knowledge and apply it.

**LEGEND UNLOCKED! LEGEND DISCOVERED!**

This stopped Naruto in his cheering. "Oh?"

**WHEN YOU LEARN OF LEGENDS, YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO UNLOCK THEM AND HAVE A QUEST TO THEM! **

**TO OBTAIN LEGEND, COMPLETE REQUIREMENTS TO OBTAIN QUEST AND, ONCE COMPLETED, ALLOWS ACCESS TO LEGEND!**

**Legend Unlocked: 'Library of Benzaiten'!**

A glint of hope appeared in Naruto's eyes. "You mean that library _full _of amazing jutsu can be mine?!"

**Requirements:**

**-Read 1000 Books and Scrolls**

"WHAT?!" he cried out.

**-Learn 250 jutsu**

"WHAAT?!" Naruto shouted.

**Once completed, Mission/Quest shall be awarded. S-rank difficulty for most Legends.**

"Damn…" Naruto muttered, rubbing his head. "This is gonna have to be a long term goal." He didn't notice as the world bled back into normal color.

"HEY! PUT ON THE DAMN ROBES AND CLIMB!"Shao Jun bellowed.

"I'M GETTIN' TO IT, YOU CRAZY WOMAN!"

XxX Chapter End XxX

**Well, here is my longest chapter to date, AGAIN. **

**Naruto Uzumaki's Stats (Chapter 5):**

**Strength: 16 (7) = 27**

**Perception: 27 (3) = 35**

**Endurance: 20 (7) = 34**

**Charisma: 11 (7) = 19**

**Chakra: 14 (5) = 21**

**Intelligence: 49 (2) = 59**

**Agility: 18 (3) = 23**

**Luck: 14 (6) = 22**

**Poison skill: +25 (Base Stat: 12)**

**Chakra Sensing: +27 (Base Stat: 18)**

**Trapping: +33 (Base Stat: 30)**

**Speech: +30 (Base Stat: 25)**

**Stealth: +38 (Base Stat: 30)**

**Torture: +15 (Base Stat: 12)**

**Blacksmithing: +6 (Apprentice)**

**Herbalism: +5 (Apprentice)**

**Skinning: +4 (Apprentice)**

**Leatherworking: +5 (Apprentice)**

**Tailoring: +4 (Apprentice)**

**Engineering: +6 (Apprentice)**

**Hopefully, I'll be able to update soon, so read and review.**

**King, signing out.**


	6. The Gray Fox Rises

**Naruto: Fishcake Chronicles: Chapter 6**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Assassin's Creed or Batman or any videogame for that matter. And I don't own Majin's or Chibi's stories. I'm simply making my own. Oh yeah, the original characters, THEY'RE MINE FUCKERS!**

**Welcome back! I'm your host HKN and I'm bringing YOU, my readers, another chapter of Fishcake Chronicles.**

**Since there are normally so many reviews, I'm afraid from now on, I will only answer, at max, five questions. Sorry, but Review Response is over from now on. If you want me to answer a review of yours, just PM me and I will.**

**Now, lets begin the chapter!**

**XxX Chapter 6: The Gray Fox Rises XxX**

"Son of a bitch!" This expletive came from a blond-haired boy, though a hood hid his hair, was climbing up a mountainside. His robe was white and began to match the icy mountain peak.

**C'mon weakling, you're almost there.** Kyuubi taunted. **This is the last one! You just have to get up, grab the flowers, and get down.**

"Easy for you to say, fox! You aren't the one climbing this damn thing!" Naruto swore.

**Listen, brat, get those flowers. I… smell something from them. Whatever they are, they are special and powerful. Gather them and keep them.**

"Jeez… fuck it! I'm almost… done!" Naruto grunted as he pulled his ragged self up once more to scale the mountain.

XxX

Shao Jun stood by, hidden in the shadows, as she witnessed her blond apprentice climb up the mountain; the air was punctuated by profanity and swears about his pain.

"You have an… interesting protégé there, Jun." Shao never turned around at the person beside her.

"I suppose I would use a different word… but yes, my protégé _is_ an interesting one." She replied.

"He seems quite vigorous; word from the compound says you kept him up all night reading books and he's going up the mountain thirty-five times. Not even you or I have done that before and he's only, what, nine or ten? Perhaps he could be the one to tame that golden goose the Mentor gave you."

Shao felt a small smile creep on her face. "It is quite shocking, really; the young and new seem to be the ones who always surpass those who came before them and the strongest seem to be the ones earliest in age."

"Careful, Shao. You're starting to sound like an old woman."

A hint of annoyance entered her voice, "Watch it, _baichi_, I'm only twenty."

The voice chuckled, "Dear me, I'm _so_ sorry. I didn't know I touched a nerve."

"And that's why you never get to touch anyone." Shao retorted.

"Hey, I get laid. Just… not that often."

Shao Jun snorted. "The last time I heard you crowing about 'getting some' was about six months ago. You may be the Great, Azrael Idaina, but the Young one seems to score where you don't."

"I'm sure the joke in that was intended, but if you will excuse me, I have to go. People to poison, drop off a ledge, assassinate, you know the drill." Azrael replied, with fake annoyance in his voice.

"Psychopath." Shao snorted.

"Only for you, my dear." Shao Jun whirled around to swipe at him with a knife, but by that time he had already retreated from her.

"Heeeey!" A voice called from up above. Shao turned her head to the peak. Naruto stood on top, holding a great bunch of blue flowers in hand. "Can I come down now?"

"Yeah, sure! Don't damage those flowers, though!" Shao shouted back.

"Woohoo!" Naruto whooped, as he leaped straight off the top. Shao Jun felt a sweat drop down the back of her head at the sight of the blond screaming in excitement as he fell a great distance down to mountain level of the hideout.

XxX

**Item(s) added! 'Mysterious Blue Flower (84)'! **

"Heh, sweet." Naruto smirked forcedly, as he struggled to stay up.

**Properties: UNKNOWN! Discover Properties of Item to unlock usage!**

"I wonder how… I'll… do…" Naruto muttered, unable to finish his sentence as he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

Shao Jun picked him up and hauled him onto her shoulder along with the flowers he had gotten.

'_First, he'll have some rest. Then, he shall train. And soon… he shall be purged.'_

XxX

"Ugh…" Naruto groaned as he rose from the bed.

**If I had a Blood Ruby for every time I've seen this scene, I would be one of the richest demons around.**

"It's not my fault I end up getting beaten up so bad…" Naruto grumbled to the fox.

**Blah, blah, blah, I'm a weak little human. **Kyuubi mockingly grumbled as an imitation of Naruto. **You are disgracing me, human. As my container, it is you DUTY to –**

"Blah, blah, blah, I'm an almighty, egotistical-as-fuck demon." Naruto retorted mockingly.

"If you are done talking to yourself…" a voice coughed, with a smirk he could literally hear. Naruto turned and saw Shao Jun sitting at his bedside, hiding a smirk from her visage.

"Oh, this is just terrific." Naruto grumbled. "I've got a demon barking one ear and an actual one barking in the other."

"Ahahahahaha…" Shao laughed sweetly, eyes flashing as she raised a dagger. "Does Naruto want a hug?" she asked, sway the knife in a subtle attempt to terrify Naruto.

It worked.

Naruto slumped back into bed. "What do you want now?"

"It is time for training."

Naruto felt a grin come onto his face. Finally! Training from a teacher who WASN'T a perverted ass!

"Awesome!"

"Get off me!" came the yell of the Master Assassin.

XxX

Naruto fiddled with his wrists as he wore a set of odd vambraces. What were they… they seemed just like the one Yanagi had.

"Now, I want you to watch me carefully," Shao lectured as she pulled up her sleeve to reveal a vambrace like his own. "Watch how I move my hand," she paused before pulling her hand slightly, "like this." A thin blade popped out of the vambrace with a soft click.

"Whoa…" Naruto breathed, "so cool."

"You see this dummy?" Shao Jun asked, pointing the blade at its heart. "With this blade, you can kill somebody with virtually no notice at all. When you're good enough, you'll be able to make it look like you're merely bumping into them. Now," she said, retracting her blade, "do it as I did and unsheathe the blade."

SHINK!

"Nice." Naruto murmure. The blade glinted in the light and it seemed to shie off of the metal plate on the vambrace.

"As you can see, it is an effective defense with the plate. I've given you two vambraces and so you can train with both. Be honored," he glanced up at her words, "only a select few have worn Twin Blades. The greatest was my last Mentor."

"Was he…" Naruto inquired hesitantly. "Was he the one who died for you?"

She shook her head, fists clenching slightly as she responded in a negative. "No, my last Mentor was one of the greatest; the second of the greatest: Ezio da Firenze Auditore."

Naruto frowned. "That doesn't sound like it is from either of our tongues."

"No, it isn't. Now try using both blades and make sure you can use them simultaneously, too."

It took a few minutes to do it, but he could finally sheathe and unsheathe them at will.

"Good, now, how did you feel after you finished reading all the books?"

"I was tired as hell." Naruto replied, "Though, for some reason, it seemed like I got the Kage Bunshins' exhaustion as well with the memories."

Shao Jun's eyes widened minutely at that. If that was so, then he not only obtained the knowledge but the experience of doing something with his clones. She hid a grin. She was going to make him abuse those clones of his.

"Alright, here's the deal. You are going to come with me and form forty-five clones. There will be fifteen groups of three. Two groups will be learning blacksmithing in the village and here, two groups for engineering, two for tailoring, two for skinning and leatherworking as they go hand-in-hand, and one for usage of and making medicines from herbs in the village. The tenth group will learn here about making poisons and smoke boms." Naruto nodded and made the handsign, summoning forty-five clones into existence. "Make sure that the ones that go into the village are disguised as someone else."

"What about the other five groups, Mento?"

"I'm getting to that." Shao replied, eyes glue to the newly transformed clones as they left for their tutors. "Now, one group of three, do you all have hidden blades?" At the nods of Naruto's clones, she continued, "That means they can be activated. I want you three to practice on dummies the stealthy usage of the blade and the close combat usage."

"How will that help, Mentor? They aren't learning anything." Naruto asked, mystified.

"You seem to assimilate your clones' experiences when you use them, which means that you can learn from muscle memory and constant training and experience how to hammer metal or stab a dummy or throw a blade. Speaking of throwing blades," Shao Jun explained, ignoring Naruto's looking of both glee and shock, "one group shall be learning how to throw blades, both kunai and the throwing knives of the Assassins."

"I can already throw knives, Mentor!" Naruto whined.

"That may be but you're like a whore from my homeland when it comes to throwing blades; you constantly suck." Shao Jun retorted bluntly. Naruto spluttered in indignation and was rendered speechless at the comparison as he blushed, both at the words and the insult.

"Another three will be learning the usage of stealth; your clones shall be taught to blend into the people and be one with the shadows. The second to last group shall be taught an important art in the city: pick pocketing."

"But Mentor, I'm not a thief! Why should I do as such?" Naruto interjected angrily.

"You will because it will do you good to actually buy things or have money when you need it instead of murdering people just to get some shuriken or some rice."

Naruto didn't respond as she listed off the last usage. "The final group shall be learning how to use different weapons. Close weaponry takes a while to utilize; therefore, you shall learn how to use a wide variety of hidden weapons, the crossbow, and even some of the more… unorthodox tools."

"That's all well and ramen-y, but what'll I do?" Naruto asked, as the last of his clones left.

"Oh, you'll be with me. You shall learn to _free-run_." The emphasis and ominous undercurrents in Shao Jun's voice told him that it wasn't going to be fun at all.

Plus, there was a positively evil smirk on her face, which was all it took to terrify him.

XxX

Step. Step. Step. Step. Step. Coil muscles. Jump. Reach for mountain face. Grab. Wince in pain at catching it. Fall. Hang.

"Good job, you finally got part of it. But there is still much to learn." Shao Jun got up and stood on the cliff-side. "But, lets have a little race. First one down wins." Naruto gave a big grin.

"Sure, but you're gonna lose, Mentor!" He quickly formed a clone and threw it over the edge.

"YOU SUNNOVABITCH!" screamed the clone as it fell over the edge. Shao Jun laughed as she dove down to the forest below. Naruto began to make handsigns as Shao Jun caught up with the falling and screaming clone.

"Kawarimi!"

POOF!

Shao fell into a bed of hay before Naruto reappeared where the clone almost seemed to crash.

"Damn, where do you guys get your hay?" he swore.

"Where do you ninja get your logs?" the Assassin countered, brushing hay off from her clothing.

"Grr… touché!"

XxX

"Now that we're in town, you need to learn how to free-run. Watch." Shao began running and jumping up a set of boxes that were like stairs as she leapt over the gap, reaching her arms out and grabbing a pole that she swung on to make it across. She continued to climb and jump across in seconds as she made her way to a nearby shop. "Well?" she shouted.

Naruto scoffed. "Shinobi do that sort of stuff everyday! Most of it ain't as acrobatic as you, but that's cake!"

Nevertheless, Naruto began to make his way across, transitions not as smooth as Shao Jun's but making it to her nonetheless.

"See, I can do it!" Naruto scowled.

"True, you can do it. You can quite easily do it; you keep going across the beams, poles, and can even make it across with out going in between. However, consider this." Shao Jun reasoned.

"When ninja do such feats, such as bounding this distance or most of it in one leap, it requires the use of chakra, making them vulnerable to detection and it does make sound. You wended the distance by my method, yet you made yourself detectable. Tell me what you did wrong."

"Well," Naruto thought, struggling with his ego to come to terms with his mistakes, "I made noises when I moved through or landed. Plus, I might have been a bit more conspicuous than necessary."

"Those are all correct assumptions, but you forgot one more: when you swung across any distance, you made yourself visible to the people behind the windows. Next time you do this, you may not be so lucky that nobody noticed you." Shao reprimanded.

"Yes, Mentor."

"So for now, you will train with me in free-running for a period of time. Speaking of which, you are your village's jinchuuriki, aren't you? How long do you have to return before you are sought after?"

"I came up with an excuse, so that gave me about two months due to summer break."

"And it's been almost a week since you've arrived…" Naruto's teacher muttered. "Very well, you'll have three other clones learning free-running with you. You shall have your clones train doubly all day and engage in meditation before rest. Do you understand?"

Naruto grimaced as he nodded. This was gonna be tough.

"Let's resume, then."

XxX One Month Later… XxX

Naruto stood straight at attention as he waited for his teacher to arrive. Shao had said that there was something important for him to learn today that he would need the entirety of his mental health for. That meant no Kage Bunshins for today.

As he waited, he couldn't help but remember, and be proud of, his skills to date.

Naruto had taken to free-running quickly. While it wasn't easy, it was damn useful. Of course, to make sure Naruto stayed quick, Shao Jun kept him in fast paced races against time to certain points in the city. Failure to beat the time meant he would have to climb up more mountaintops and gather more blue flowers.

By the time the month had passed, Naruto had gotten a heck of a lot more upper body strength, which was slightly shown on his nine-year old torso, a feat only Maito Gai could have said happened to him, and enough flowers to make over a dozen bouquets.

For his professional skills, Naruto had a rather simple plan to constantly accelerate his skill in tailoring and blacksmithing and so on. While in town, the transformed clones would be teens wishing to learn the trade, _who had to go home at different times._ This meant that when one clone "left", they dispelled and the other clones could gain their improvements, allowing them to move on faster.

Naruto's teachers in the town were delighted. In almost a month, their students had gotten pretty good at their professions. Sure, they weren't perfect, but in the time they had, they could be considered experience apprentices. It took a while to explain all the mechanics of some of the fields, but the kids took to it well enough.

The clones were excellent at identifying herbs that could be used for eating and mixing medicines, despite not knowing many concoctions. Naruto was also an excellent hunter and could track most prey, including bears, deer, and wolves. _Those _were where the good pelts came from. From the leather, or the scraps of leather, that he got from them, or cloth, he could sow a set of clothing that could double as armor. That was where he truly excelled: blacksmithing and leatherworking.

Speaking of blacksmithing, he was pretty good in it. Naruto could make his own batch of throwing knives, kunai, and shuriken in few hours. It would get easier as he got better. Finally, Naruto didn't learn much about engineering that could be applicable but his city-teacher did tell him how to make his own explosive powder.

Naruto's eyes filled with glee once he had learned how to make it. What he made was not exactly the strongest, being rough and not too strong, but _damn_ if that could be circumvented.

Of course, all of what he learned in the city by the mountain was compounded by what the Assassins had taught him.

Naruto had learned how to keep his weapons in top performance. He had also been taught to make clothing in styles that could deceive others as to who he really was; i.e. he learned how to make the clothing of a Yakuza or a noble or some impoverished man on the streets.

In terms of his engineering, Naruto learned a few things his explosive powder could be used with for… exciting results. For example, if he threw a handful at an open flame, it would result in a moderate explosion. Throw it at a light bulb and you would have an explosion plus flying shards of glass and wires that went flying everywhere, shocking people. Plus, he learned that depending on the materials he used, Naruto could make different kinds of explosive powders. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time to make enough headway into that subject.

This began Naruto on his long and dangerous road into chemistry. With that in mind, he resolved to _finally_ read that book once he got back.

Of course, when he applied the explosive in a spar against Shao Jun, learned a few things from her.

First, if carefully concentrated and contained, he could have a rather dangerous incendiary/explosive in what he dubbed his "arson-al".

But most importantly, if used correctly, Naruto's powder could double as not just a weapon but also as a distraction. He remembered the words Shao Jun had told him.

_Theatrically and deception are powerful agents of fear and deception. Your powder falls under those categories._

This was, of course, he remembered with a scowl, when she grabbed some of his powder and threw it against the ground to make a bang and make him flinch. As a result, he received quite a beating at her hands.

In any case, he still learned something: think outside the box.

Naruto had an easier time with learning poisons than he would imagine. It was probably because of the added points to the poison skill. Currently, he was good enough to make some mixture that would be a good poison, in varying degrees of lethality/non-lethality. The poisons he was most skilled at making were simple killing poisons. They took from maybe a few minutes to a few days to work. He was also pretty good at paralysis and tranquilizing poisons.

Just imagine the possibilities; once he got his hands on a few books from Konoha, the amounts and types of poisons would be endless!

Naruto shook his head. The so-called "prospect of learning" had _really_ taken its toll on him. Still, he couldn't worry about that now, as the Master had just arrived.

"You have trained well," Shao commented, "and though you have trained for such short time, you are now considered to be an Novice Assassin."

"I thought I was already an Assassin?" Naruto asked.

"No, you were merely an Apprentice – someone untrained in our ways. Now, you must undergo the final test." It was when she said those words that Naruto noticed the torch and the bowl with the pestle in it in Shao's hands.

Inside the bowl was the blue flower that he had picked many times before.

"Part of being an Assassin is being a symbol. We symbolize a path for others. We represent those that are willing to stand against crime, corruption, and evil." She said. "To be a symbol against those that would rule and control those that are fearful would imply that you do not fear them. For you to be a symbol against them…" his Mentor paused before continuing.

"You must become their fear and fear itself. To do that, you must conquer your fear." Shao declared. She began to mash the flower with the pestle and heated it. "Man is not complicated and you are no different, Naruto. Man fears."

"And what you fear is inside yourself."

Naruto stiffened at her last declaration. What did she mean? Was it Kyuubi? Or did she mean that only he knew the answer?

"Mentor, before we continue, could you please explain yourself?" He said flatly.

**Oh, this should be good. **Kyuubi chuckled.

"You fear that which has plagued you for a long time: loneliness." Jaw clenched, Naruto stared with his cold eyes into Shao Jun's own dark orbs. She did not flinch.

"You feared that if you weren't acknowledged, you would never be able to escape your loneliness. You also fear the Kyuubi. You fear its power, its wrath, and its evil that would render all around you afraid of your power. It all comes down to that: you fear the two, Naruto. You fear the Kyuubi and solitude." Naruto's eyes became colder at each word of Shao's yet she didn't waver.

At that, she tipped bowl with the mashed up flower and poured its essence into brass bowl that had been heated by the flame. The heat made a gas form from the flower.

"Breathe Naruto and conquer your fear." Shao commanded.

Naruto stiffly knelt and lowered his head to the bowl on the table. He took a slight sniff of the compound; this caused Shao to whisper, "Breathe… Breathe in your fears."

Naruto opened his mouth and inhaled it in through both his breathing canals. The smoky compound entered him and he closed his eyes.

Suddenly, a flash of absolute isolation appeared. There was no life around him for miles to see. Naruto heard a growl and turned around to see a positively unchained and malevolent Kyuubi looming above him, paw rushing down to crush him.

Naruto's eyes snapped open and a slight gasp escaped him. He remembered a scene when he was a child and all the people refused to look at him. They whispered dark things to their children, about how he was cursed and demonic. His pupils dilated.

"Face them." A voice not meant in his memories came from in front of him. It was from Shao. "To conquer your fear, you must become fear." She urged passionately.

Naruto took a deep shuddering breath and tried to remain focused. "Bask in the fear of other men, if you wish to conquer it." At that, Shao Jun pulled up her hood, which he just noticed was standard, like his. She stepped backwards and melded in with the crowd of Assassins that had appeared. Naruto nodded.

He needed to fight with the cloud of fear.

Naruto drew his dagger and hood. He crept into the crowd, expecting to be attacked by Shao. Naruto's vision continuously distorted, as if it were zooming in and out. Suddenly, Shao leapt at him with her dagger raised. She slashed downwards, which Naruto kept at bay with his own blade. He drew himself closer and tried to feint grabbing her with his left hand while really going in for a sweep kick.

Shao leapt straight up as a response and thrust out her legs in a donkey kick at Naruto's chest, twirling into a back flip as he was sent to the floor. The kick elicited a grunt from Naruto as he went with the roll to the floor and ended up on his feet. He scanned the crowd for Shao, but it was too late as she had already melded in with it. Naruto hissed.

He would have to find her soon.

A flash of a laughing Kyuubi appeared in front of him, baring its massive teeth. Naruto didn't flinch as he spread his senses to search for Shao Jun. However, at that moment, the crowd of Assassins split into two crowds and formed an aisle that seemed to point from him to an engraved box.

"Open the box." They chanted, over and over.

Naruto sheathed his dagger as he made his way over to the box. Before he could, however, a throwing knife was tossed high up and arced towards him. At the same time, the Master Assassin he was searching for dashed to him and stabbed at Naruto, who bent away, noticing the knife flying at his head.

Naruto cursed inwardly and thrust his hand, with his hidden blade drawn, at the knife, making it spin away. He used his other hidden blade to lunge at Shao, who pulled his arm and flipped him to the ground in response.

Naruto hit the floor and got back up immediately, only to see, once more, that his Mentor had disappeared once more. Naruto turned to the box, slightly frightened by what could be inside.

Naruto grabbed the lid and opened it slowly.

An ancient red eye opened within. Naruto felt fear bubbling up slightly, but hardened his mind and quashed that feeling.

Kyuubi was inside him and would stay that way.

Naruto slammed the box shut as he finally felt a cool focus settle over him.

Time to defeat his teacher.

Naruto turned around and stalked into the crowd. The beginnings of a plan began to form in his mind. He had a vulpine grin form on his face. This would be great.

Naruto walked into the crowd, waiting for Shao to attack him. Right on cue, she threw a barrage of knives at him, which he dodged except for one. Shao's eyes narrowed. Horizontal cut on his forearm. Before she could stab him with her hidden blade, Naruto quickly threw down a smoke bomb, blinding her. As she coughed, Naruto hid himself among the crowd. When the cloud cleared up, Shao faced the crowd where had seen Naruto head towards.

She prowled along, seeing her fault: everyone looked alike. Everyone, except for Naruto, who had a cut on his arm. Shao Jun grinned as she stepped behind someone. Cut on arm.

Game over.

Shao grabbed the Assassin with a cut and held her dagger to his throat. "You must leave no trace, my student." She whispered.

A hidden blade settled near her head. "I didn't." came the whisper of the actual Naruto. The person in her grasp was simply an Assassin that Naruto had cut to replicate himself.

Shao Jun felt a smile form on her face.

Ingenious.

XxX

"When I said that you had passed your final test, I was telling the truth. However, there is one more rite of passage." Shao told Naruto, Shao crouching at a ledge with a small viewpoint.

"You have conquered your fear. Now, complete your Leap of Faith and you will be a part of us."

A caw of an eagle interrupted his thoughts. A brown eagle screeched as it soared through the sky, Shao seeming to relax. She stood up and uttered two words as she fell. "You must…"

And then she plummeted to the earth, landing in the haystack beneath.

Naruto walked onto the viewpoint. He sucked in a deep breath through his nostrils and watched as the eagle soared on through the sky, king of the world above Naruto.

"You must…" Naruto muttered, the last words coming to mind. He dove down to the earth, haystack in sight.

'_Soar like an eagle.'_

XxX

It was an amazing feeling, flight. Naruto felt like he could actually fly like the eagle he saw. But, what goes up must come down eventually.

Naruto plunged to the earth, diving headfirst. He turned through the air, fear not clouding his senses at all.

'_It can't. Not anymore.'_ Naruto thought as he turned so he would fall on his back, like Shao Jun did. His execution was flawless despite it being his first Leap.

FWUMP!

Hay ascended slightly as Naruto landed on the hay, eyes still aimed for the skies.

"How was it?"

Naruto turned his head to the left and saw his teacher grinning at him. "Was it not an experience like no other?"

"I am _so _doing this off the Hokage Mountain." Naruto promised to himself, causing the Mentor to chuckle.

"I must leave now, but I am giving you your first mission."

Naruto swung his legs over the hay pile and stood at attention.

"Your task is to assassinate the following list of officials in town: the mayor, his enforcer, the head of tax collection, and the commander of the police." Shao commanded.

"Those are some rather important people," Naruto noted. "Is there a time limit for this mission, Mentor?"

"You have two weeks. Prove your worth. Do not fail me." Shao said, having turned her back to him.

"And finally, remember the Creed."

XxX

A little blond boy, not older than four or five, wandered into the red light district, sparkling blue eyes large and innocent as he strolled on into the district of lost hope, lost dreams, lost innocence, and lost chastity.

He toddled along, not noticing the looks he was receiving from the local frequenters of the area. Yakuza, call girls, and other people of the dark slums stared, shocked at the little child just casually walking in.

At that moment tripped up and slight squeak. "Oops," the child said as he fell over and got back up, dusting off his small blue overalls. "Kaachan won't wike mess," he giggled.

The call girls who were passing by couldn't help but squeal, "Aww! How cute!" at the child's pure innocence. They were quite endeared and gather around the little child. "Hi, cutie!" the second-tallest, and perhaps bustiest, one cooed. "What's your name?"

The child giggled. "Minato, nee-chans!" The girls gave another squeal.

Normally, they weren't like this as they spent their days perhaps pleasuring some old perverted fart they wouldn't sleep with _any_ day. However, the call girls of Mai's Legs couldn't help but regain a little bit of their lost innocence at the child. After all, none of them could deny that she desired a younger brother.

The second-tallest one had dark hair that shone with an almost indigo hue and her eyes were a deep black. She was the bustiest of the three call girls and was wearing a plain white kimono that was accentuated with slight traces of gold color, almost similar to an angel.

"Nice to meet you, Minato-chan!" she said, picking him up and nuzzling her cheek against his. The little boy laughed once more, eyes filling the girls with an inexplicable happiness as they smiled at him. "And from now on, I'm Miki-neechan!"

"Don't hog him, Miki! Let us have a piece of him!"

Miki rolled her dark eyes. "All right, meet your other two neechans, Aya and Setsuko!"

Aya was the one who wanted cuddle time with the little child. Her hair was a golden color and she stood the shortest of the three, about five and half feet tall, green eyes sparkling at the sight of the child. Aya was the second bustiest and she squeezed the child in a great big hug against her bright pink kimono.

"Aren't you just adorable? Give him a hug, Setsuko!"

Setsuko's eyes were a weary amber color and, though she was the tallest and most cautious of them all, she couldn't help smiling at the little face of the child that was passed to her. The boy had his little hands touching her long brown hair that went down a little bit further than her shoulder blades. Setsuko's kimono was an unflattering black, but she didn't care.

"Hello, Minato." She said with a smile that seemed quite pretty on her face. Minato squealed in happiness when he saw her smile and Setsuko couldn't help but laugh.

However, she realized that the child was out here. _Alone._ In the red light district.

"Minato-chan," Setsuko began, "where is your kaachan?"

"Kaachan?" he asked. "She's at wowk!"

"At work?" Setsuko repeated for clarity. "Where does she work?"

"Some pwace cawwed," Minato thought endearingly,"Dusky Wantewn, Setsu-neechan!"

Wasn't that sweet? The kid had already given her a nickname. Then Setsuko thought where she had heard of 'The Dusky Lantern'.

"Isn't that the brothel where the chief of police and the jerk of collects taxes hangs out?" Aya asked. "I think Sae-chan told me that a few weeks ago."

The girls shivered slightly at the thought of the police chief. He was a rather brutal man who was actually one of the Yakuza. Senso Kaien was _not_ someone to piss off.

He was rather intimidating at six feet tall. Senso was one for tradition in everything _except_ for matters of the bedroom. He always got two shots of sake at the bar with the tax collector and guarded the greasy tax collector for about an hour before taking advantage of a girl at the establishment. Senso would make his… willing partners do everything that could be demeaning and everything to them that was painful for them while pleasing for himself.

To think that the little kid's mother worked at The Dusky Lantern… it literally sent chills down the girls' spines. And little Minato wanted to go there _alone_?

Hell no.

"Minato-chan, you can't be wandering around here and not know where to go! It's dangerous!" Miki scolded.

"But… I miss kaachan." Minato whispered. "She not home fow a whowe day!" His bright blue eyes quivered as they started to water up with sadness. His smile had disappeared and he looked as if he was going to cry.

"There, there, Minato-chan." Miki comforted, rubbing his blond hair. "We'll come with you to find your mother."

At that point, one of the eavesdropping Yakuza got off the wall he was leaning on and put a hand on the shoulder of Miki. "But before you do any of that," he interrupted with a mean leer, "you are gonna make me feel good. Or else," he smirked, hand on his blade, "the kid gets it."

Miki and the two girls were scared, both of the man and for Minato. Before Miki could either agree or run, the little blond in her arms wiggled out her grasp and landed on the ground and dusted himself off before walking up to the dangerous, tattooed man.

The child put his hands on his hips and asked, with an accusing tone in his voice, "Why you bothewing Miki-neechan?"

The girls gasped. The man merely chuckled and drew his sword. "Do you wanna play dead kid?"

Miki, Aya, and Setsuko were very scared for Minato's safety and were about to do something, when Minato replied, "Oh, I wuv games! Wet's pway hide-and-seek!"

The Yakuza's grin became vicious, yet confused. "Alright, kid. Let's play in that alley over there."

Once again, before the stunned and scared call girls could do anything, the two went off to the alley. They waited scared for twenty seconds before Minato dashed away and back into Miki's arms.

"Wun, nee-chan! He's hiding!" Minato squealed.

Unsure and confused, the trio of ladies made their way away from the street and went down to The Dusky Lantern to find the endearing child's mother.

If the girls had actually checked the alleyway, they would have seen a dumpster. If they saw the dumpster, they would have seen there was something under the dumpster. If the girls peeked under the dumpster, they would have screamed at what was under it.

It was the corpse of the Yakuza that had approached them moments ago, with two stabbed holes on either side of his head.

XxX

"Alright, we're here, Minato-chan." Setsuko announced nervously. The girls could hear the thrumming music and heavy beat from it. Miki and the other girls could barely see through the darkened windows, but they could see the darkened shadows of women dancing on poles.

"Kaachan!" Minato squealed, his tiny little arms flailing in the direction of the brothel, innocent and unable to detect the tension and fright in the air.

"Now, now, Minato-chan. We can't just go all willy-nilly," Aya murmured. "You have to promise to hold our hands and stick by us no matter what, understand?"

"Pwomise!" Minato was put on the ground and ran towards the door.

"Minato, wait!" the girls cried, as they raced after him in fear. They went inside and the little child was lost in the throng of people.

"Where could he be?" Miki whispered frightfully over the music.

"Wherever he is, we have to find him. Stay in the shadows and don't be seen. If you see the police commander, stay away from him," ordered Setsuko.

The three girls spread out among the people. Fifteen minutes later, they met up at the entrance once more.

"Ohh, where could he be?" Miki moaned, scared for the safety of the child.

"I saw the police commander leaving the bar. Hopefully, he didn't run into Senso." Aya informed, wringing her hands nervously.

"Where could he be?" the three wondered at once.

Speak of the Bijuu and the Bijuu shall appear.

"Neechan!" The girls heard the little shout over the deep thrumming music.

Miki felt a little body run into her leg and she quickly grasped it. It was the little toddler they had been trying to find! Albeit, he had a little glitter on him, but Minato was physically unharmed.

"Don't you ever scare us like that again!" Miki/Aya/Setsuko scolded/scolded/lectured.

"Sowwy, neechan!" Minato replied sheepishly, chuckling slightly. "I saw kaachan! She say hi! Towd me go home!"

"C'mon, lets get you across the red line and you can go home." Setsuko sighed.

"Setsuko!" cried Aya and Miki. She ignored the two.

"Do you live near where you entered the district?" Setsuko asked Minato.

"Yeah!" Minato cheered. "Home!"

"Alright, then we're going."

Awhile later, the quartet made their way home, Minato being swung by Aya and Miki, laughing all the way.

When they had reached the end of the district, Minato grinned and bowed. "Bye bye Miki-nee, Aya-nee, and Setsu-nee!"

He paused before pulling a note from inside his overalls. "Kaachan say give neechan note!" Minato gave the trio the scroll before running off. "Bye, neechans!"

The girls smiled at the delightfulness of the child. Then, curious at what the mother gave, they unfurled the rolled up note and read what was written. They gasped at what they saw.

_If you wish to be rid of this degrading life of ours, come to the gates of town in two weeks. You will be transported with no charge to Konoha._

"This could be our chance," Setsuko murmured. The three had gotten a chance at hope and they would hold onto it like a lifeline.

The next day, the trio would be shocked at the news that Senso and the tax collector had disappeared.

XxX

A week later, the mayor gave a speech. He stood at his podium, speaking into a special device to amplify his voice and told the crowd that the disappearances or possible kidnappings would be investigated. The mayor also assured the citizens that the commander of police would be replaced soon and that there was nothing to fear.

When the speech was over, the mayor retired to his estate in town. He sighed as he grasped the bridge of his nose. "Senso is dead, I just know it. We're gonna need to replace him with another vicious pawn." He muttered seemingly to himself.

"What is this _we_ you speak of, Mayor-kun?" a gilded voice hissed. "You know that _you_ are the one in power; _I _am merely your bodyguard, still awaiting the rest of his payment."

"Now, now, Aoi," the mayor said placatingly, "There's no need to get angry. I'll have your money available to you by the end of the week. By then, I'll have replaced the tax collector and Senso. I'll have gotten the payments and you'll have your money."

"Yes," the hidden Aoi mused, "I suppose my blade _won't_ sear your throat, then. We wouldn't want to damage that pretty speaking voice of yours, now would we?"

A bead of sweat rolled down the mayor's neck as he began to leave the foyer, another voice rang out.

"Of course not. That's _my_ job."

"Aoi: kill him!" the mayor shouted as he ran away. Aoi appeared in the foyer and extended his senses to find the infiltrator to the mayor's estate. He growled, as he couldn't find the hidden man.

"I'd advise you to show yourself, lest I pepper your hide full of senbon." Aoi threatened, pulling an umbrella off of his back-holster.

A second later, with no man in sight, Aoi tossed up the umbrella and his hands blurred into handsigns.

"**Ninpou: Jouro Senbon!**" The umbrella spun as hundreds of spring loaded senbon sprayed all over the estate's foyer, hitting many objects and furniture, as well as peppering the walls. When the umbrella fell to the ground, someone jumped out of the shadows, legs having a few senbon stuck in them.

"It appears that I have won," Aoi gloated, "My senbon are coated in poison and you won't have long till you die."

The person looked up at him and suddenly, he or she seemed to be emanating a level of indifference to the situation.

"So what?"

Aoi's eyes widened. Either this mystery assassin did not care whether they lived or died or… they were immune to poisons.

It was probably a bloodline.

Aoi's eyes then narrowed. "Who sent you? Which village are you from?"

The short man merely pulled out the needles from his legs and dropped them on the floor before blurring towards with an uncommon speed; it wasn't too great for him, but it was startling nonetheless.

"I bow to no one." The man whispered as he thrust the dagger that was suddenly in his hands at Aoi's heart.

Aoi twisted out of the way and jabbed his fist at the man's face. However, the assassin caught it on his forearm, causing Aoi to wince.

Was this man's arm made of metal?

For the first time, Aoi took the shortest of seconds to evaluate the man's attire.

They were wearing a dark grey armor that seemed to be made of a metal-plated leather chest piece that had the shine taken out of it. The metal appeared strong enough that it could take a punch but also light enough and flexible enough to fight in.

Plus, it appeared to be practical for an assassin in the shadows as one seemed to be able to blend in with the darkness in them.

His legs were likewise covered; the assassin wore dark grey camoflauge pants with small sheets of plated metal at key locations. The armor didn't seem to hinder him at all and it was likewise flexible. There appeared to be plating on his shins and knees and his Achilles tendon.

Their feet were slipped into sandals and the assassin was wearing a belt with an odd triangular symbol in a dark scarlet.

Aoi's adversary's face was shrouded from sight by a dark gray cowl that hid his face in darkness. The eerie thing was that the cowl was shaped like a fox's maw. The only indication of a face was that there was a glint of light coming from the assassin's eyes.

However, there was one thing that drew Aoi's attention above all else.

In the center of the chest guard, there was a slight piece of the darkest of grey metal that didn't have a sign.

It was shaped into a dashing… fox.

All this Aoi saw before having to return his focus to the problem at hand. How was he to take care of his foe?

Aoi retracted his arm before whipping out number of shuriken from his holster and threw it at his enemy as he jumped away. The assassin merely batted them away with his surely plated arms.

Handsigns blurred as Aoi prepared another jutsu.

"**Katon: Endan!**" Aoi spat out a large fireball that seemed too large for the assassin to dodge in the foyer. Aoi's instinct told him that the assassin might be grinning when he merely stepped outside and shut the door on the fireball.

The ball hit the door and the surrounding furniture caught on fire, while the assassin smashed through a nearby window, throwing sleek knives at Aoi.

Aoi sidestepped three of them before his eyes widened, as another one appeared, hidden in the last knife's shadow. It cut across his leg as he jumped straight up to avoid it.

That was a ninja technique! Either this assassin was a ninja or he had learned a few tricks from ninja.

'_No matter_,' Aoi thought angrily. '_He shall feel my wrath._'

"You are good," Aoi called as he reached for his belt, "but do you know who I am?"

Aoi pulled out a hilt and announced, "I am Aoi Rokusho, nuke-nin of the Leaf and you shall be cut down by the legendary blade I stole."

A short blade of lightning appeared as Aoi charged chakra into the hilt.

"Raijin." The assassin muttered, as he sidestepped the lightning, only to be slashed across the chest. It didn't really damage his armor. However, the assassin spasmed as the lightning shocked him gratuitously. Still, it didn't damage him much.

The assassin could take the pain.

He smacked the blade with his dagger hilt, moving it away from his chest, and causing a shock to his arm, while throwing a knife at Aoi.

With a small sidestep, Aoi avoided the knife and kicked Naruto away from his proximity.

With a few handsigns, Aoi called out his next jutsu, "**Suiton: Dai Mizu no Nami!**" (1).

A blast of water brought about a large puddle/small lake in the estate. Aoi jumped straight up as he thrust his sword to the earth, stabbing into it. A massive electrical current surged as the assassin jumped to the ceiling, being jarred slightly by the shock.

The pair jumped to the ceiling; Aoi stuck to the ceiling while the assassin clung to the nearby cupboard.

"How long can you hold on till you let go and get shocked?" Aoi remarked. "I've charged the sword with enough chakra to electrify the floor for a while."

The assassin thought for a quick second before ruffling through his pouch as Aoi stood on the ceiling reveling in his apparent "victory".

The gray-hued assassin pulled a metal wire attached to a knife and threw it at the overhanging chandelier. Aoi's eyes flashed slightly in fear as the wire wrapped around the chandelier.

"No!" Aoi roared as his opponent swung down and just barely managed to grasp the hilt of the legendary blade and claim it as his own.

"I have your greatest weapon; what will you do now?"

Aoi gritted his teeth and threw great amounts of senbon. Though inexperienced at the blade, the assassin successfully batted away all the senbon before he rushed at the now grounded Aoi.

The assassin stabbed at Aoi who sidestepped away once more. However, this time, the assassin was ready. He twisted his wrist and Aoi felt something slam into his chest and fell to the ground.

"That bolt was coated in a paralyzing sedative; you'll be out for a _long_ time." The assassin stated as Aoi's vision darkened. "Of course, I'll take good care the Raijin."

Aoi passed out as the assassin grasped the blade's hilt.

Wouldn't he be a good prisoner?

XxX

The mayor hid behind his closed bedroom door as he heard the battle rage on. He would have come out when he heard the roaring fireball slammed into the door, yet when he heard the battle continue, the mayor just hid himself back in his closet in fear.

However, a moment later, the closet opened and a gray man appeared in his view. Fear began to cloud his senses as he got on his knees and begged for forgiveness and mercy.

The gray man had none.

XxX

A week later, the trio of call girls made their way to the gates. There, a caravan was waiting for them.

"I trust you're the girls that my friend told me about? We're about to head to Konoha. If you are going, get on the this cart and we'll leave." The caravan leader explained.

Aya, Miki, and Setsuko merely gaped and nodded. They absentmindedly got on the nearest cart, where a cart driver, a blond-haired boy with a bucket hat, and a great deal of grain sacks were sitting.

As the carts left, they talked about the recent events.

"Did you hear about the mayor and his bodyguard?" Aya asked. "The mayor was found dead on his podium and his guard was declared dead. His guard was even a ninja!"

"I heard," remarked Miki, "that the man who beat that missing-nin bodyguard also killed the tax collector and the police commander; all of whom were the most corrupt in town. I also heard that the guy who did it wasn't even a ninja! He was just a normal guy, trained in being an assassin."

Setsuko felt she should speak up as well. "You know what people called him, right? They say he was a hero dressed up like fox."

"What did they call him?"

"They called him… Gray Fox." Aya whispered, also pausing for effect.

At the front of the cart, the blond smirked. '_Theatricality and deception… you are a _genius_, Shao.'_

So began the legend of the hero, the knight cloaked in darkness, the assassin of morality.

So began the tale of Gray Fox.

XxX

**It has been awhile since I last updated. This was meant to be a way to end our Assassin Arc and, though the arc is over, it isn't the end of the Assassins' association with Naruto. I hope you all liked the theatricality in it but for those who may think there are holes, don't worry. I'll explain everything next chapter, which may take a little while, but I'll get it done.**

**Anyway, there haven't been any stat updates, so none of that this time.**

**A cookie to those who may get the references I made. If you want, tell others in your review where the references came from. **

**(1): Water Style: Great Water Wave**

**So please, read and review. Give me your comments, criticism, or flames. **

**Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Fishcake Chronicles and I hope to see you next time.**

**King, signing out.**


	7. Return And Revenge

**Naruto: Fishcake Chronicles: Chapter 7**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Assassin's Creed or any videogame for that matter. And I don't own Majin's or Chibi's stories. I'm simply making my own. Oh yeah, the original characters, THEY'RE MINE FUCKERS!**

**Welcome back! I'm your host HKN and I'm bringing YOU, my readers, another chapter of Fishcake Chronicles.**

**All right, I have closed the poll for the second Crossover Element, which I let you choose, readers. Any other Crossover Elements included will be already implemented in time.**

**Now, the winner of the poll at a near constant fifteen percent:  
**

**BLEACH!**

**Last I checked, there were 68 votes for Bleach, and now, that shall be in the story! Now, it's time for an important notice.**

**IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT!**

**Now, I've put up the other poll for the arranged marriage. PLEASE VOTE ON IT PEOPLE!**

**I will answer a few questions now.**

**toadymoomoo: Besides Bleach, I have ONE more crossover… I think. It's hard to plan for the future.**

**Lzy Slckr: Despite being a primordial being, it is rather difficult for a Bijuu to determine where someone is unless they have the authorization of the Jinchuuriki to access their main powers, like ill intent sensing. As Kyuubi was at the very least linked to his chakra, he could detect chakra, but since Yanagi didn't have any chakra reserves that were of shinobi levels, Kurama assumed she was suppressing it. In fact, Yanagi **_**was **_**suppressing any traces of her presence. But, she had a rare power within her and **_**that**_** was what Kyuubi detected: a trace of her power that was unlike chakra. **

**Guest (just above jaelin): I try to include the crossover elements to hone elements of Naruto's strengths. For example, Assassin's Creed was to hone the stealth that almost NEVER seems to occur in the show about NINJAS who are SUPPOSED to be stealthy. As for Bleach, I anticipated that it would be picked and so I thought it could keen the raw power aspect of Naruto. So, the world of Naruto is going to be the buffer of more moderate and more common abilities in the world. Besides, pairings won't occur for a while and neither will the Bleach Crossover Element either. You'll find that out in this chapter.**

**sh8ad8ow: That would be WAY too much power for him and Bleach already won so sorry.**

**Thanks to all the people who complimented my work.**

**Now, lets begin the chapter!**

**XxX Chapter 7: Return and Revenge XxX**

**XxX (Part 1): Mystery of Homecoming XxX**

The Sandaime sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He has said it before and he'll say it again.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was getting too _fucking _old for this shit.

Ever since the academy session restarted after summertime a day ago, things could not be worse.

He knew one thing, though.

Naruto was _always_ the root of most of his problems.

When Naruto was born, Hiruzen had to reestablish dominance over his shinobi and his upstart council and thwart its efforts to execute Naruto. All compounded, of course, by the angry Uchiha and the almost boss summon size of the amount of paperwork that needed to be taken care of.

When Naruto was three and a curious little tot, Sarutobi had taken him to his office and Naruto had done three things: the first was when tried to crawl over to the Scroll of Sealing. If he didn't know any better, Sarutobi would say the tyke wanted to learn jutsu from them.

The second was when he kept staring with his little baby eyes and making funny faces at the places his ANBU were hidden. To say Sarutobi was shocked at Naruto's capability to detect his ANBU at an age where he couldn't even go to the toilet properly was to say that Jiraiya was a little perverted or Tsunade's breasts were a bit big.

_Fucking_ understatements.

When Danzo had heard about Naruto's actions, he had, of course, tried to persuade Sarutobi and got the Council to give him more headaches about utilizing Naruto's capabilities as an engine of destruction.

Sarutobi had broken more than one of his personal desks during those meetings.

However, what really peeved Sarutobi was when he would read his little orange tomes of heaven from Jiraiya. Little Naruto would constantly stare at him with accusing eyes as if he _knew_ what the Hokage was reading.

Needless to say, Sarutobi was grumpy as he was unnerved by Naruto's gazing and had to put away his book on more than one occasion.

But this, this topped the whole cake.

The night before, a man cloaked in gray armor snuck into his office just as Sarutobi was about to gather his things and leave. The mysterious man had dumped a pudgy man on the floor of his office.

Before Sarutobi inquire his identity, the man stated, "This man has done illegal things." Then man in gray threw what he referred to as his "calling card" and crashed through the tower's window. Sarutobi had cursed.

That window was just fixed!

The Sandaime had ordered his ANBU to pursue the intruder to no avail. He had escaped and left two things behind. Sarutobi had turned to the pudgy man quivering on his floor and fixed him with a glare that screamed, '_You're going to jail, bitch.'_

Hiruzen had no idea until the next day what the man had done until the next day.

The following afternoon, he was forced to endure his advisors' squabbling over the treatment of the prisoner. However, the knocking on the door he thought was salvation was merely a red herring.

The nine-year old Naruto had apparently found one of Konoha's greatest missing-nin lying dead in the Forest of Death.

Aoi Rokusho had two side-by-side stabbed holes in his throat, and, yet, a stunned Naruto claimed that he merely found Aoi.

Of course, the cake was not yet complete without its cherries.

On Rokusho's person, Naruto had found a bounty on his head with the contractor being the now identified pudgy man, Akui Goyokuna. According to the contract, Aoi was employed to kill Naruto.

Sarutobi couldn't forget that Naruto had stubbornly claimed and kept the Raijin, refusing to return the great artifact to the village because, as Naruto stated, "finder's keepers."

Sarutobi glanced up at the ceiling and fruitlessly wondered if the gods were out to make his life miserable. It wouldn't have been the first time he speculated that possibility.

He sighed again. It was time for the meeting with the council.

Definitely out to get him.

XxX

"Order in the council room! ORDER!" Sarutobi commanded sternly. Clamoring voices began to die down as the Sandaime took his seat.

"We have assembled today to discuss a particular case involving two instances: a man with gray armor delivering to us one corrupt real-estate agent and Naruto Uzumaki discovering the corpse of one of Konoha's most infamous traitors, Aoi Rokusho."

Murmurs arose once more then died as the Hokage continued to speak. "Discovered by the young Uzumaki on Rokusho's person was a bounty that our delivered prisoner, Goyokuna, had contracted, and the blade of the Nidaime."

Discord was sown as people began complain rather loudly at this. "Silence," Sarutobi commanded once more. "I would like to remind our esteemed council," he continued in a slightly annoyed tone, "that you have been gathered not to provide judgment on the matter but to provide council as this assembly suggests. I will begin to take input on the matter at once." Sarutobi lit his pipe with a flickered flame on his finger before taking a long drag. When he finished, he gestured to the first person, an old woman with senbon in her hair buns.

Sarutobi's old teammate Koharu began to speak, "Hokage-sama, I would like to point out the suspicious circumstances of this entire affair. Firstly, the Uzumaki boy is only nine years old; why would he even be in the Forest of Death? Secondly, who is this man in gray you encountered? Finally, does it not seem too coincidental that the Uzumaki boy found Rokusho's body in the Forest? I think not."

More muttering arose as Sarutobi cleared his throat to regain his advisors' attentions. "I agree that there _is_ some dubiousness in this situation and some points have been made up that cannot be ignored. When I met Naruto-kun, I inquired about what he was doing in Training Ground 44. His roommate, Sasuke Uchiha, helpfully explained the situation along him; apparently, he had spent his summer in the Forest training and on the day after the new Academy term began, he discovered the cadaver of Aoi."

There were no mutters at this statement, which he took as the signal to continue, "As for the man in gray, he left behind a calling card, if you would. The emblem he left behind was of a fox," he said, and as he did, discontented mutters arose at his last word. "We have confirmed some information about the man: he is called the Gray Fox and is listed in the Bingo Book. His first sighting was in a town southwest of Sunagakure and he seems to have made his way here. Gray Fox is apparently a mercenary assassin who doesn't have shinobi training but has training in arts similar to it. The Gray Fox's infamy began when he assassinated the men in political power who, after investigation, were corrupt."

Chouza Akimichi stood up and spread his arms as he spoke, "So what do we have on our hands, then? Do we have some mercenary vigilante? Or, was this 'Gray Fox' contracted to kill Aoi? Either way, we have a B or A ranked threat in our village as he was quite easily able to kill Rokusho and infiltrate our home."

The Hyuuga clan head, Hiashi, scoffed, "A-ranked? Chouza-san, you are overestimating this man; based on evidence, he cannot use chakra. He is, at best, a B-ranked threat and it is quite likely that Rokusho perhaps underestimated him."

Despite wanting to sleep, Shikaku Nara felt the urge to pipe up, "Perhaps, but the Forensics Squad didn't find much evidence of a struggle. There is evidence of two holes stabbed through his head; its troublesome, but I think the Fox just got the drop on Aoi," he drawled.

"To deem someone good enough to evade detection by our own defected jonin," Inoichi remarked, "That does not dwell well upon the possibility of capturing this mercenary."

"Our hunter-nin will have no trouble capturing this mercenary," growled Tsume Inuzuka, "Rest assured, this fox shall be torn apart by our hounds should he dare trouble our home."

"And should he also evade the Inuzuka, the Hyuuga will always keep him in our sights and exterminate this vermin if needed," Hiashi continued, voice icy as a corpse.

"Very well, have your clans informed learn about Gray Fox and report any sightings of him. Capture him, if possible. Else," Sarutobi puffed smoke, not having to finish the statement. "The only other issue at hand is Rokusho and the Raijin. Naruto is demanding the bounty of Aoi as he had turned in the body and refuses to relinquish the Nidaime's blade."

Koharu merely scoffed at the audacity of the young blond. "Why should he receive Aoi's bounty? He had no hand in killing him. And as for Sensei's blade, just take it from him Sarutobi."

"Perhaps, but imagine the consequences," Inoichi interrupted, "This child has the greatest potential in the entire nation; do we really wish to disillusion him from Konoha? We don't want to be enemies with our greatest possible asset."

"I must be ill if you are stating that the _failure_," Hiashi scoffed, face twisted into a sneer at the last word, "could be greater than any of us."

"His grades do not reflect his potential; I agree with Inoichi-san," Shibi incanted monotonously, "It seems quite illogical to ostracize yet another collaborator of our village. However, precautions should be established so the Raijin does not fall into the hands of our adversaries."

"I agree," came the concurring chorus. Sarutobi frowned. Inwardly, he tried to come up with a compromise to satisfy council and Naruto yet came up with a blank.

At that moment, as if one had spoken the name of Kyuubi, he had appeared.

Shouts came from the hallway. If one tried to hear it, they could hear the following conversation:

"There is a meeting going on! You are NOT allowed in there!"

"Jeez, don't get your pretty panties in a twist, lady!" There was an 'eep!' that came right after that as the voice continued, "I need to talk with him about something important right now!"

There was a scuffle and a dash of footsteps as the resident blond prankster burst through the door with a grin. "Hey jiji! I can't wait to be Hokage and have a hot secretary like you do!"

Sarutobi couldn't be more relieved and exasperated. He put his face into his palms. "Naruto," he groaned through his gnarled hands, "did you really peek up Kaede-san's skirt?"

Naruto's grin grew enormously fox-like and mischievous. "Sure did, jiji! And she was sort of asking for it with that super-short skirt! Did you know you know Kaede-chan likes lacy black thongs?" He said as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively with a smirk.

Koharu harrumphed at the child's impudence at interrupting the meeting. Most of the male members of the council, including Sarutobi, were blushing. In fact, Naruto would have sworn that Hiashi Hyuuga activated his Byakugan for a brief moment before a light, almost invisible blush marred his scowling face. No reaction came from Shibi although his glasses seemed to rise slightly with his eyebrows. Tsume seemed torn between guffawing and smacking the child for his lecherousness.

"I see that our resident prankster seems to favor the path of Jiraiya-sama then, does he not, Hokage-sama?" Tsume finally said, cutting through the silence of the room at Naruto's words.

"Naruto," Sarutobi groaned, putting his face in his hands, "have you been reading Icha-Icha?"

"'Course not jiji!" Naruto chirped, "You know that's for perverted adults! But Kaede-chan was just throwing it into my face; can you _really _blame for taking a look?"

Tsume then decided that she would she do the former of her dilemma: laugh like anything.

"Regardless of the situation, Naruto," Sarutobi said wearily, "did you have anything _important_ to see me about?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I wanted to speak with you about the Raijin!" He stood there waiting as the council members sat there, on the edge of their seats, waiting to hear about the precious artifact.

"_Alone_, Hokage-sama," he stressed, using a formal tone, which made the Hokage's eyes narrow. What was his angle?

"Very well; our meeting is adjourned." Sarutobi declared.

"Now wait a minute!" Koharu spluttered, "We are not through discussing this! Hiruzen – "

"_Now_, Koharu," Sarutobi stated with iron in his voice. She stiffened and bowed before leaving the council room. All the other clan heads began to file out of the council room after the Hokage's advisor left.

Once they had all left the room, Sarutobi turned a stern eye to Naruto. "Now, Naruto, what did you wish to talk about concerning my sensei's sword?"

The blond assassin's eyes darted about slightly nervously as he scrutinized the room. "Could we… talk in your office?"

The wizened Hokage's eyes narrowed. _Something_ was up.

"Very well." Sarutobi clasped his gnarled hand upon Naruto's shoulder and the duo Shunshinned back to the Sandaime's office.

When they appeared, Naruto stumbled about appearing a little pale. "It's gonna take some time to get used to _that_."

The old man's patience was wearing slightly thin. "_Sit_ and tell me what your plans are for the blade, Naruto."

To his credit, Naruto barely flinched at the steel in his surrogate grandfather's voice as he sat down. "Hokage-sama, I wish to negotiate with you," Naruto asked, prostrating to the ground in submission before sitting up.

Hiruzen blinked.

Whatever Naruto was going to say, this was _not _what he expected.

"Negotiate?"

"Before I continue, I ask you, Hokage-sama, how long would you assume the Scroll of Seals is?"

Ah, there it was.

Killing intent threatened to leak into his voice as he answered, "Approximately one hundred feet long. But _only_ the Hokage may view it as it contains numerous kinjutsu."

"Then I convey my offer: I shall return the Raijin no Ken to the Hokage's possession in exchange for having the opportunity to view ten feet of the Scroll of Sealing."

XxX

Naruto grinned as he walked back into the village, still transformed as a traveler in a caravan. The ladies he had saved went back into the village, at his behest, to, ironically, pursue a career that they were skilled in: real estate.

It _seemed_ rather ironic, as he had _finally_ learned from Shao Jun who had it out for him: a real estate agent named Akui Goyokuna. The blond jinchuuriki had no idea what the man's beef was, but it would be fun to turn him in and imprison one of his antagonists.

As he departed from the gates to the Uchiha compound, he couldn't help but reminisce over what had happened two weeks ago.

XxX Flashback XxX

_The rather pretty girls did not realize that the Yakuza was dead, though that was for the better. Naruto didn't want to blow his cover and ruin the entire operation._

_When Naruto set out to get rid of the people two at a time, he decided upon getting rid of Senso and the mayor's tax collector first. It was better to fry the small fish first rather than go for the big prize at once._

_Luckily, since the Assassins kept tabs on all the people in power, it was of little difficulty to find a juncture where he could eliminate both of his first targets._

_Admittedly, he was not prepared to do this so quickly, but the girls made it quite easy for him to have a cover._

_**Instead of playing fluffy toy to these courtesans, why don't you use them for what they do: give pleasure to men. **__Kyuubi growled, tongue licking his massive teeth._

'That is sick_,' Naruto thought back furiously, '_And I would be no better than that scum I just killed.'

_**I suppose you are correct; there is no telling where these filthy females' anatomies have been.**_

_Naruto groaned inwardly at Kyuubi's derogatory statements and instead focused on what was going on._

_When the Henged blond child entered the den, he quickly made two Kage Bunshin: one transformed into a busty and scantily clad woman and the other into the bartender on duty. Quickly, Naruto hid under the bar and the bartender clone knocked out the real bartender on duty before taking his place. Meanwhile, the stripper clone hid in the shadows, waiting for her signal._

_The bartender clone cut its switch _very _close as when it returned to the bar, Senso and his charge were waiting for a drink._

"_Give me a vodka," Senso grunted. His charge nodded as to say, '_I'll have what he's having,_' as he continued to ogle the ladies around._

"_Sure thing, gentlemen." As the bartender clone dipped down underneath the bar, the real Naruto had just finished dosing the vodka with poison: hydrogen cyanide. When the two men drank their drinks and ordered another one, Naruto grinned slightly. Everything was going to plan; they would be dead within the hour._

_After the two swallowed their second rounds, they walked off to enjoy gazing at the dancing ladies. Once they away from the bar, the bartender clone calmly put up a sign that said, '_BAR CLOSED_' and took the bottle of vodka._

"_I'll dispose of this and dispel," the clone whispered to the original. Naruto nodded and the bartender walked off. He quickly crawled away and noticed that the ladies were looking for him._

_The blond ninja started to walk to the exit before his scantily clad clone halted him._

"_Give this to them," she whispered and walked away, cloaked once more in the dark edges. _

_Glancing at the scroll, Naruto shrugged before running to the exit._

_XxX One Hour Later… XxX_

_Senso and the tax collector heaved themselves onto a table, gasping for breath as the collapsed into the plushy chairs._

"_Maybe we're just drunk," the tax collector offered as he wheezed._

_Before Senso could respond, a seductive voice declared, "Or maybe, you've been poisoned." A blonde woman stood in the entrance, door locked behind her as her hips swayed, a smirk on her crimson lips._

_Senso wished he could curse and strangle the blond bitch, but instead clutched his throat, trying to breathe, but found he could not. The last thing he heard as the blonde sauntered over to him, his vision darkening, was the blonde woman's whisper._

"_Yasuraka ni nemuru."_

_Then, the pair of corrupt officials crumpled, dead from asphyxiation._

_The blonde sealed their bodies within a scroll and exited the establishment, none the wiser._

_XxX Flashback End XxX_

Of course, everything had been cranked to a higher level when he fought Aoi. The jinchuuriki prankster knew that there was a missing-nin safeguarding the mayor, but Naruto did _not_ know that the guard was a B-rank missing-nin!

It was just his luck that he managed to convince Shao Jun to allow him to get a new set of armor commissioned from Azrael the Younger. The man made armor that definitely could take a hit. Still, he owed the man a great deal of money; he owed Azrael the equivalent of ten assassination jobs, all for that armor plated with that odd metal, titanium. Naruto owed him another three assassination payments as well for the stolen seals that allowed his armor to grow with him. Still, when battle-proven, Naruto realized its value.

After Naruto had sedated Aoi, he had quickly killed the mayor and sealed the cadaver away. The Assassins _did_ need proof of death after all. However, what was most interesting was the subsequent interrogation of Aoi.

XxX Flashback XxX

_Aoi's eyes slowly opened and cursed at the light shining in his eyes. He had really taken a beating._

"_Hello, Aoi." Aoi's ears strained to listen to the man as his warden spoke. His assailant in gray strolled in front of him, crouching near Aoi's form._

_As he did, Aoi struggled to escape his bonds, realizing he couldn't as his hands, feet, and entire body had been tied to a chair. "Now, now, we wouldn't want you to hurt yourself, now would we?"_

_Aoi continued to curse as his struggling intensified, spitting at his captor. The spittle hit his captor's face and he moved to wipe it away._

"_Oh, now you're in for it," the assassin growled._

_Inwardly, Naruto was grinning. Until Aoi had spit on his face, what Kyuubi told him to say was working rather well. Then…_

_He got pissed._

_**BEAT THIS MONKEY'S ASS! HOW DARE HE SPEW HIS BODILY FLUIDS UPON THE GREATEST OF ALL DEMONS! **__Kyuubi raged._

_Naruto slammed a metal-coated gloved fist into Aoi's jaw and gave him a good few jabs to the stomach._

"_You are going to _fucking_ cooperate, Aoi," Naruto growled as Aoi winced in pain, trying to flex his jaw to assess the damage to it._

"_What do you want? What would it take for you to let me go?" Aoi reasoned._

_The short attacker pulled a scroll from his belt and a brush. "Tell me all of your jutsu; I figure I can get a good price on them. Give me what I want and I'll send you off."_

_Aoi remained on guard, skeptical about the man's words. "Really? So that's what drives you?"_

"_Among other things," came the nonchalant reply from the assassin, "and that also includes how you got your umbrella rigged."_

_The missing-nin struggled with his bonds once more before growing calm and began to speak._

_Unknown to Naruto, however, Aoi's reason for his stopped resistance was that he had managed to grab hold of a sharp needle kept up his sleeve._

_He had rattled off about five jutsu before Aoi quirked the corners of his mouth up slightly. The ropes were just about ready to come apart._

"_The next jutsu," Aoi began, "is –"_

_The former Konoha nin tore the ropes apart when he pulled his arms away from his sides, needle drawn to stab his foe between the eyes as he charged straight at him._

"_THIS!"_

_Aoi vaguely heard a click before –_

_SHLUNK!_

_Aoi froze, eyes wide, as the assassins' blades on the side of his wrists were buried deep into his skull. The man was stuck on the blades of Naruto's two extended arms and flopped to the floor when Naruto retracted his blades._

"_You didn't have to do this, you know," Naruto muttered, shocked by what he saw._

_The fading of light from Aoi's eyes as he impaled himself on his Hidden Blades, the duo of holes filling with blood as Aoi laid there. Naruto froze at the sight of Aoi's orbs growing glassy and turning into a void of blue._

"_Yasuraka ni nemuru." Naruto sealed away Aoi's body in his personally made scroll for containing the bodies of missing-nin and gathered his supplies, including the jutsu scroll he had been making._

_Then he puked._

_XxX Flashback End XxX_

After that episode, the last thing he needed to do was arrange fast transportation away from town and spread the word that an associate of the Assassins, as per his cover story, had killed off the corrupt in town.

Naruto had recalled a conversation about his armor with Shao Jun the night before his fight.

_Why a fox, Naruto?_

The blonde jinchuuriki grinned now at his answer as his new moniker seemed to reflect what he wanted.

_A certain fox frightens me. It's time my enemies share my dread._

**You really are screwed up in your head, aren't you, mortal?**

'_You're in there; you figure it out.'_ Naruto mentally retorted. A deep rumbling laughter echoed throughout the sewer that was his mind.

Or, perhaps that was the rumbling from his stomach at the prospect of Ichiraku's ramen.

Definitely it.

With a whoop, Naruto ran off to enjoy the last lunch of summer at his favorite restaurant.

XxX

Teuchi, who told him that it had been quite a while since he had seen him, had greeted Naruto quite enthusiastically. Naruto merely rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, just telling the old ramen chef he had been training.

The blond ramen enthusiast was about to begin his seventh bowl when a fist slammed down on the back of his head, sending Naruto's face into his ramen.

Naruto angrily whirled around and was about to stab the person who would _dare_ interfere with his veneration of ramen before he blinked.

Sasuke.

He looked pretty pissed. Sasuke's shirt was a black and ripped in many places. The last Uchiha wore dark shorts with bandages wrapped around his fists and ankles, though his ankles had bulges as they were wrapped around him. Sasuke's hair was longer, a little longer than it was when he fought Gaara in the first Chunin Exams.

"Teme!" Naruto roared, fire in his eyes as they both clutched each other's shirts by the collar, though Sasuke's grip was slightly stronger. "What the hell?"

"What the hell? WHAT THE HELL?" Sasuke shouted back, "You sent me to a much worse place when you told me to work that massive-eyebrows freak!"

Naruto blinked and then began to snicker before it erupted into full-blown laughter.

"Don't you dare laugh!" Sasuke raged, "Do you have any idea about that man's training or what its like to be around him _and_ his mini-me?"

"BWAHAHAHA! I knew it!" Naruto was dropped to the ground as he clutched at his sides. "I can't breathe! I can't breathe!" he choked out, still laughing.

Sasuke's eyes twitched as he considered making Naruto unable to breathe permanently.

Naruto's laughter soon died down as he began to pick himself up, wiping a tear away from his eye. "C'mon," he giggled, "lets see if you got any better."

XxX

Sasuke was _ruthless_. It turned out that he was wearing weights like Lee and Gai and was unable to keep up with Naruto until he took them off.

Sasuke's weights were definitely not as heavy as Lee's in the Preliminaries but they were heavy enough that it was difficult for Naruto to keep up with him.

Besides his aching bruises, Naruto had a plan to pull off that was rather tricky but manageable if he got it done correctly.

Time to get to work.

XxX

"…I shall return the Raijin no Ken to the Hokage's possession in exchange for having the opportunity to view ten feet of the Scroll of Sealing."

Naruto sat there, sweat beading down his neck. His plan didn't seem so great as it originally did.

It was _simple_. Naruto would turn in Akui as the Gray Fox and then the next day, he would _mysteriously_ and _coincidentally _happen upon Aoi's corpse and the Raijin in the Forest of Death. With falsified records, even if people checked the entering lists, they couldn't say he hadn't been in there legally, though on no one's authority. The blond Uzumaki would be able to obtain the bounty of Aoi and, legally, own the Raijin for whatever he wanted. He was amazingly tempted to just use the sword, especially after he turned in Akui and returned home.

XxX Flashback XxX

_Sasuke was still asleep; that was good. Naruto pulled his hood down as he collapsed onto his bed. It was a challenge to escape the ANBU, especially since they were out to capture and/or kill him._

_Still, having lost them many times before, he managed to get home with the ANBUs' searches turning up fruitless._

_Naruto sighed as he lay down. Naruto stared up at his ceiling and saw his Save Point there. Naruto's eyes brightened slightly as he tapped it and saved his game. Naruto lay down once more with a smile. It was refreshing to finally have some peace and – _

_**CONGRATULATIONS!**_

"_Ugh…" Naruto groaned, "I can't _ever_ catch a break. Still, its nice to know that the mission is completed."_

_**CROSSOVER ELEMENT LONG-TERM QUEST: COMPLETED!**_

_**BONUS COMPLETED!**_

"_That's right," Naruto exclaimed, "I turned in that jerk."_

_**Legendary Sword Obtained: Raijin no Ken!**_

_**Statistics (When Equipped):**_

"_Equipped?" The blond pondered. "You mean I have to do something in the game to use it?"_

_**Lightning Affinity: Strength: 2X!**_

_**Kenjutsu: +10!**_

_**Ability: Jutsu Canceller (When Raijin slashed at jutsu, can cancel most low-level jutsu)!**_

_**Infamy: +300 (w/Kumo)!**_

_**Infamy: +300 (w/ Kiri Faction: **__**Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū)!**_

_**Secondary Use (Leverage)**_

_All of the stats seemed to befuddle Naruto, yet one caught his eye._

"_What is the secondary use?" Naruto asked, seemingly to himself. He _hoped_ that the game would somehow respond._

_**Secondary Use: Some items have properties that can apply not only to combat situations.**_

_**Leverage: Item can be used as political power with authority. When properly used, the item can be used to gain favors in exchange for not using it on others or in exchange for the item.**_

"_Wait…" Naruto spoke to himself as he furrowed his brow in thought, "I can make jiji do stuff for me? Sweet!" he exclaimed._

_**Boy. **__Kyuubi spoke. _

'What do you want, Kyuubi?'

_**Perhaps you can use that sword to obtain access to that scroll you purloined in your original existence.**_

'Purloined?'

_**Stupid mortal… trade the blade for the scroll you were deceived into stealing by the silver-haired shit-eating ape.**_

'Oh, the Scroll of Seals? That's… a great idea!'

_**I have those constantly, you unevolved chimp.**_

_**Mission Completed! 'Discover Your Contractor!' Intelligence: +4! Charisma: +6! Agility: +4! Bonus: Stealth: +5! Experience Gained: 500!**_

_**Bonus Completed! 'Assassinate Contractor!' Bonus: Stealth: +8! Agility: +8! Intelligence: +6! Bonus: Poison skill: +3! Experience Gained: 200!**_

_**Achievement Unlocked! 'An Eye For An Eye!' Youki Control: +10%!**_

'Fox, what's youki?' _Naruto wondered._

_**It is my energy or my chakra. It's much superior to human's since it's much more potent and powerful, yet it is impossible for humans to control it unlike demons. **__Kyuubi mused. __**It appears this game can give you more control over my power… unfortunately for you, an ape such as yourself CANNOT control my strength.**_

_**Boss Fight Completed! 'Aoi Rokusho!' 'Raijin no Ken' Obtained! Strength: +4! Bonus: Poison skill: +5! Chakra: +4! Perception: +4! Luck: +6! Bonus: Torture: +2! Experience Gained: 623! Achievement Unlocked! 'And You Call Yourself A Thunder God…!'**_

"_Why did I get more experience for beating Aoi?" Naruto asked Kyuubi aloud._

_**Probably because that weakling was apparently a Jonin… **__The fox in his mind grumbled. __**Finally, you're realizing that you must kill people. Perhaps you are changing from that naïve brat you were…**_

'_Hah! You're admitting I'm awesome!'_

_**YOU IDIOT! YOU ARE STILL NOTHING COMPARED TO ME OR ANYBODY!**__ Kyuubi roared._

_**Joined Faction! 'Assassins!' Ranking: 'Novice' Completed Faction Mission! 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Four Of Us!' Bonus: Stealth: +5! Bonus: Poison skill: +5! Experience Gained: 130!**_

'This mission got a lot less, too_,' Naruto noted. '_Probably because of these Factions._'_

_**Obtained Raijin no Ken! Kenjutsu: +5! Achievement Unlocked! 'Epic Quality!' Experience Gained: 50!**_

_**Well, you can't just get a lot of experience for taking a sword.**__ Kyuubi pointed out, snickering at Naruto's irritation at the lack of experience points._

_**Precious Person Gained! 'Shao Jun!' Experience Gained: 50!**_

'That's right,_' Naruto thought, a slight smile quirking on his lips. '_I guess she is my precious person.'

_**Dear devils, brat, get a fucking room or let me puke in peace.**_

_Aaaand… there went Naruto's good mood._

_**Level Up! Level 8! Stats Gained:**_

"_Shit! I just jumped a ton of levels!" The blond protagonist exclaimed. "I was, what, level four before?"_

_**Strength: +17!**_

_**Perception: +13!**_

_**Endurance: +14!**_

_**Charisma: +11!**_

_**Chakra: +12!**_

_**Intelligence: +15!**_

_**Agility: +11!**_

_**Luck: +15!**_

_**Bonus: Poison skill: +6!**_

_**Bonus: Chakra Sensing: +5!**_

_**Bonus: Stealth: +7!**_

_**Bonus: Torture: +5!**_

_**Bonus: Speech: +6!**_

_The end result of the beefing up was a fishcake the twice the size of Naruto's hand that hovered almost threateningly before him._

"_Please don't be an enema! Please don't be an enema!" Naruto frightfully prayed before hesitantly poking the fishcake._

_The fishcake flew into Naruto's mouth, almost choking him before entering his gut. Naruto's body expanded, steam shooting out of his ears, before he returned to normal size. _

_The blond grimaced as he felt the sensation, which was… discomforting to say the least._

_**CONGRATULATIONS!**_

'What now?'

_**YOU HAVE UNLOCKED TRAITS! Traits are abilities that affect your strength. Choosing one may give you an edge in certain skills or in leveling up. It may even give you a chance to fight on the brink of death.**_

_**A trait is gained every five levels.**_

_**You may select one (1) trait.**_

_**Traits Available:**_

_**Will of Fire**_

_**Power of Youth**_

_**Balance On The Brink**_

_**Ultimate Intellect**_

_**Reprogram**_

_**Built Against Blood**_

_**Taijutsu Freak**_

_**Ninjutsu Nut**_

_**Genjutsu Fiend**_

_**Kenjutsu Fanatic**_

"_So many goodies to choose from," Naruto cackled._

_**Pick Ultimate Intellect.**__ Urged Kyuubi. __**You could use the brain power.**_

"_Fuck you," Naruto shot back. "Let's see… Will of Fire, huh." Naruto paused before smiling softly as he reminisced to how much the Sandaime reverently spoke about the power of the Will of Fire._

_Naruto really did get stronger when he protected his precious people._

_**BLURGH! **__Came the sound of Kyuubi fake gagging because of Naruto._

"_Shut up," Naruto grumbled. He viewed his other options. Power of Youth brought shuddering to the forefront of his mind. Perhaps he would be better off without the thoughts of Gai and Lee._

_Our blond hero could not understand what any of the traits did because, unlike other things, the Game had not explained these traits. It appeared that he would be going in blind._

_Balance On The Brink and Built Against Blood both sounded edgy, but Naruto was not sure what they could do. The last four choices sounded like they would improve the listed skills but, at the moment, Naruto was unskilled at Kenjutsu or Genjutsu so they would be useless. Taijutsu and Ninjutsu were considerable but…_

_Reprogram seemed odd. '_Maybe this means I can restart the game and start anew.'_ Naruto shook his head in a no. Though he could, it was definitely not worth it to go back to being a crying pooping baby. _

"_I guess I'll be going with your choice Kyuubi," Naruto muttered. "I pick Ultimate Intellect!"_

_**ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT THIS TRAIT?**_

_**YES**_

_**NO**_

_Without hesitation, Naruto smacked the Yes block before it exploded. _

_**Intelligence: +(1)!**_

_**Intelligence: +10!**_

"_What?" Naruto twitched as he growled his words. "That's all I get?"_

_**You may select one (1) trait.**_

"_Huh? I thought I already did?" Naruto asked, befuddled as the same traits minus Ultimate Intellect listed themselves once more._

_**I'm guessing that 'Ultimate Intellect' increased your intelligence and let you get another trait point. **__Kyuubi guessed._

"_I guess that makes sense. I pick Will of Fire!"_

_**ARE YOU SURE YOU THIS TRAIT?**_

_**YES**_

_**NO**_

_This time, Naruto didn't even bother hitting a block. He just grinned and shouted, "Hell yeah!" The block exploded and a ring of fire surrounded him before getting sucked into his body._

"_Fucking right!" Naruto bellowed, pumping his fist as the world bled once more into color._

_XxX Flashback End XxX _**(A/N: Sorry about massive flashback and stats. But it was really getting late to add stats in!)**

With careful planning, Naruto thought he could get a better deal by trading the Raijin instead of keeping it.

That idea seemed to be falling apart.

Naruto felt his breathing restrict slightly as the Sandaime's eyes narrowed as he examined Naruto in a new light. The nervous nine-year-old felt killing intent leaking from his surrogate grandfather before it vanished.

"Naruto," Naruto felt a slight twinge of relief; that tone wasn't dangerous. "Why do you even want to _see_ kinjutsu?"

"Well, I have a massive amount of chakra; I figure I can make use of it with some of the badass jutsu in the scroll."

"But to trade the Raijin for it? I suppose you understand the value of knowledge," Sarutobi commented, "but ten feet? Bah," the Sandaime snorted, smoke curling out of his nostrils like a dragon. "That's too much. Three feet."

"You stingy old man; eight feet!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Three and a half feet."

"Grr, seven feet!"

"Five feet and that is the max I can allow," Sarutobi relented. "You aren't even a genin, Naruto; I may hold you close to my heart and you may have the Raijin but you don't have the clearance to even hold the Scroll."

"Fine," Naruto pouted, "I agree." Sarutobi's lips turned upwards slightly and flashed handsigns faster than Naruto could see. The Scroll of Seals emerged from the bookcase and laid itself upon Sarutobi's desk.

"Just so you know," Naruto cheekily said as he swiped the scroll and placed it on the floor, "I will be taking notes."

"This is probably the first time in your life you've ever done that, considering your academics," Sarutobi remarked with a smirk. Naruto's pranking _had _rubbed off on him.

Ignoring Sarutobi (though his twitching eye indicated he didn't), Naruto unfurled the scroll and opened it up to five feet.

On the first five feet of the scroll was the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, a Wind jutsu, and the Nidaime's notes on his ability to draw water from the atmosphere.

Jack-fucking-pot.

Once Naruto copied down all the jutsus, he rolled up the scroll and handed it to Sarutobi, along with the Raijin. "I hope you enjoy the blade, unlike me."

"It is nice to have Sensei's blade back, even at such a price. Now, Naruto," Sarutobi's face turned stern, "these jutsu are forbidden for a reason. Do NOT use them haphazardly; the consequences could be dire." Hiruzen's killing intent actually leaked out to show he was serious.

"S-sure jiji," Naruto stuttered amazed. It was even stronger than Orochimaru's!

"Oh, yeah, do mind if I test a jutsu I wrote down here?"

"Naruto…"

"Don't worry, check it out! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Five puffs of smoke erupted in Sarutobi's office. "Whoa, I got it on the first try. Well, see ya jiji."

Hiruzen stared as if he had fish eyes. Naruto learned a B-rank kinjutsu in one try?

"My god, Minato, your son's gonna take the world by storm," Hiruzen muttered.

XxX Part One End XxX

**XxX (Part 2): The Two Avengers XxX**

It had been a year or so since Naruto had received the bounty for Aoi and the jutsu from the scroll. When he had, Sasuke received him with incredulity at Naruto's unfathomable 'luck' that he had gotten Aoi's bounty, the Raijin, _and_ traded the sword for jutsu.

Of course, Naruto had merely received them with knowing smiles and grins and 'Eat that, teme!'

Naruto had taken the Sandaime's word to heart. When he read over the jutsu he had copied besides the Kage Bunshin, Naruto realized the magnitude of power that some of the jutsu had.

That was why he actually went to the Forest of Death to test the second jutsu.

'_Looking back, it was a good idea to do that instead of testing it in battle,_' Naruto thought as he hung from the underside of the carriage of his clinging to. '_I certainly didn't want to test it out in battle, go berserk, and kill my friends._'

XxX Flashback XxX

_**Alright, brat, what does the description say?**_

'Fuuton: Saiko Nagare (1). This S-rank jutsu requires massive chakra stores and/or a great affinity to wind. Plus, it needs good chakra control. Fox, do I have that?'

_**Calm down, brat. You're energy is blows and burns; it cuts and writhes in seas of fire. Though, your control over your power sucks balls.**_

'Soo… my affinities are fire and wind?'

_**Yes, you loud, dysfunctional buffoon, that's exactly what I meant.**_

_Even though Kyuubi had insulted him many times before, Naruto couldn't help but hit the Bijuu hard._

'Shut up you large-as-fuck cosplay outfit,_' Naruto thought._

_**You did NOT just call me a fursuit.**_

'What do you think?_'_

_**I will gnaw your soul like I do mountains, brat! I will rip your body apart with my tails and put you back together again before repeating the process! I WILL – **_

'Jeez, calm down, fox,'_ Naruto winced as he heard the fox. '_Anyway, when this jutsu is used the winds will surround the user, unseen to the normal eye. When the user approaches something or something approaches the user, the winds shall shred the encroacher upon the user's proximity. Use this carefully as it drains chakra very quickly, will cut ANYTHING that approaches, friend or foe, and has an effect on the mind. An effect on the mind? What does that mean?_'_

_**Try out the jutsu and figure it out. Remember that it is an S-rank technique, though. I'll keep an eye out for your empty-as-fuck head. **_

_Ignoring the insult, Naruto quickly read the handsigns and memorized them. The blond quickly tucked the scroll into his pocket before practicing the handsigns._

_It was always a good idea to have them down pat before using it in the field, as it would save time._

_Twenty minutes later, Naruto was satisfied at the three-second pace at which he could use the jutsu. Time to test it out._

_Before he could, however, a glob of spider silk flew at him, which he dodged. Suddenly, massive spiders began to crawl out of the woodwork._

"_Aw, shit. Not you guys again!"_

_Naruto had never fought one of them before, but the first time he went into the Forest of Death, he saw one and it scared the _fuck_ out of him. Now, however, he had a whole horde of them out to kill him._

_He could be afraid or he could take them on._

_**DO IT BRAT!**_

"_COME ON YOU SONS OF BITCHES!" Naruto roared as he ran through handsigns. "FUUTON: SAIKO NAGARE!"_

_Naruto could not see it, but distortions surrounded him. However, he didn't bother to see them. His vision had gone red._

'_**Kiiiiiillll,'**__whispered a voice into his head. It was deep and powerful, as much as, if not more than, Kyuubi seemed to have no source, but Naruto just felt COMPELLED to listen._

_Why didn't he start now? Start? Start? Start? Start…_

"_**Haah…**__" Naruto breathed, a voice unlike his own, rippling over his own, as his eyes grew dark, slightly maniacal. The skies grew slightly darkened. Gales began to circle him, cutting the skies as more spiders began to skitter around him. The changed blond turned his eyes that glimmered with a manic look not unlike a certain tanuki jinchuuriki's to the spiders._

_**KILL**_

_The forces of those-that-were-greater-than-man-could-comprehend-beyond-space-time-existence-power-logic…_

_Exploded._

"_**!**__" Naruto howled. The massive tempest that had been gathering around him seemed to freeze along with time before –_

_BOOM!_

_The maelstrom blast outwards in every direction, causing slashes and gashes and furrows along the trees, cutting all down within fifty feet. The wind faded at two hundred feet away from him as they merely blew at the trees, not cutting but merely blowing at them._

_The spiders were not nearly in such good condition._

_Every spider was sliced and diced into multitudinous pieces, the closest covered in almost thousands of infinitesimal cuts that dripped blood everywhere. The ground was covered in the purple and black mixture of venom and blood of the spiders, none of it reaching Naruto._

_Speaking of Naruto, his eyes rolled up in his head and he had collapsed onto the hard earth, unconscious._

_XxX_

… _**up… flesh – … ake up!**_

'What the fuck?'

_**WAKE THE FUCK UP, YOU RANCID, IDIOTIC, TURD EATING SONOFABITCH!**_

'What do you WANT Kyuubi?!'_ Naruto mentally screamed._

_**Do you have any idea of what you just DID? You used up all of your chakra and some of mine on that jutsu!**_

'What's the big deal? You told me to!'_ Naruto thought defensively as he slowly picked himself back up._

_**You don't realize it, do you? Fleshbag, you were NOT in control of your actions! There was a reason, as we found out, that the jutsu was named as such! You were… the wind around you became sentient. Your jutsu was made to enrage and awaken the psychotic side of the wind! And when it did…**_

_**The wind possessed you.**_

_Naruto's eyes widened as a chill ran up his spine. _

_**That's right. A force of nature took control of your body and made the wind destroy EVERYTHING around you! You should realize that this jutsu is too powerful to belong to most men. A demon, perhaps, gifted it to Suna. Nevertheless, you may not be able to control this. You may be able to manipulate wind and reduce the cost of this technique with your human training, but the fact is unless you are able to resist the Will of the wind, you cannot control this power! **__Kyuubi roared as he lashed his tails out uneasily._

'Is there any alternate method for controlling the jutsu?'_ Naruto thought resolutely._

_**There may be one way. **__Kyuubi bared his fangs as he spoke. __**Use my power.**_

'No way in hell.'

_**Bah, you don't understand, do you? With my power comes my will to supplement and subdue your own. This way, although you will not totally be in control, with me, you can resist the Will of the wind. That way, the jutsu will be used to your desire; shred those who approach you or the way you did it before.**_

'I guess that's my only option at the moment. Heh,'_ Naruto thought, snorting at an inside joke, '_I guess I'm aptly name for this jutsu. Me, the maelstrom.'

_**Fishcake.**_

'FUCK YOU!'

_XxX Flashback End XxX_

For two days of every week till now, Naruto had practiced using the jutsu and drawing on the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox beforehand. At the moment, Naruto could only control a little bit of chakra. Though, one day, Naruto had drawn upon too much and formed the cloak of chakra with one tail that he had on the day of his death.

The enraged blond killed a lot of the nigh endless spiders there. Thanks to the ambient demonic chakra in the Forest of Death that, apparently, had grown around the corpse of the Kyuubi, his outburst of power had not been detected.

When had used the jutsu with the demon's chakra, the wind seemed to do as it was originally intended: to tear apart anything that approached him. Naruto dashed around the forest clearing he conducted his first test in, gigantic spiders and trees being ravaged by near invisible blades that surrounded him.

Luckily for him, however, the winds seemed to be easier to withstand, according to Kyuubi, as being manipulated as such had occurred long ago and, therefore, the winds were a bit more 'in control' compared to the first time. Usage of the Saiko Nagare really drained him, even with the Kyuubi's chakra, though.

Still, that was what practice was for.

Aside from the forbidden wind jutsu, the blond jinchuuriki had also begun his training in wind manipulation three months after the first incident with Saiko Nagare.

Unfortunately, Naruto did not know what to do and didn't even know whom to ask about training his wind element. All Naruto knew was that he had to cut a leaf.

So, he put the practice aside for the moment.

The only other things Naruto worked on in that time was some of the fundamentals: taijutsu, fuuinjutsu, speed, accuracy, and added a few other ninjutsu into his arsenal. And, he had FINALLY read some of the books he had been meaning to, though he had yet to look into the Nidaime's theory of water control.

With his Kage Bunshin, of course. It was surprisingly fun to abuse copies of himself.

Needless to say, Naruto had developed a slight interest in chemistry and a great interest in the development of jutsu.

Still, that didn't matter now.

He had his job from Shao Jun, one that he would FINALLY make money on now that he had paid back Azrael.

Since Naruto could not afford or explain why he had a pigeon coop on his apartment, the blond Assassin came up with a better answer.

Fuuinjutsu.

Though he had been spreading himself rather thin, before Naruto left the catacombs of the Assassins a year ago, he had devised a matrix that solved that problem.

It was a storage scroll that was both complex and simple. The complexity of it arose from the input and output: the seal had to have two access points.

The space in which the scroll used had to be accessible with two seals that input and output objects and alerted the other when that happened.

What was used was a storage formula with a linking matrix at the core of it that connected it to another identical seal, which he gave to Shao Jun. Once that complicated part was over, all he needed was an alert subformula that was linked to the usage of the storage seal. It took about three days to construct, even with aid from the book because, for all he knew, that was a unique seal, which he'd made.

Still, it was he best work to date besides his own explosive seals. Now, whenever Shao Jun deposited a contract in the sealing pocket, Naruto knew about it and could withdraw it. Then, when he completed it, the blond merely had to input the cadaver of his prey into it. Time would pass and, presto, he would have his money.

'_Focus,'_ Naruto reminded himself. '_This Game is really messing up my mind.'_

The mission at hand: assassinate a man supplying arms to the unknown rebel leader of Amegakure at the border of Ame no Kuni. He may or may not have been corrupt, but either way, he was supporting a man who had killed many people, according to his briefing.

That was more than enough reason for Naruto to take the mission.

XxX

A man walked home and greeted his family as he hugged his wife.

He didn't know that he was being watched.

XxX

Naruto quickly picked the lock of the man's house once he and his family had gone to bed. The man was married and had a son and a daughter, both who were about the same age as him.

He tried to force down the bile at his throat that arose at the thought of killing the man who had a family. Yamaguchi was the first one that had one in his list of assassinations.

'_Remember the mission,_' Naruto thought, trying to dredge up the will to continue and slay the benefactor of the 'God' of Ame.

**You really are losing it, brat. **Kyuubi told him. **Keep this up and you'll end up like that weasel-Uchiha or like the cyclops.**

That was right. He didn't want to become insane as Itachi (or perhaps Kakashi) was alleged.

**What can really help you is affirmation. What do you believe, maggot? Heartless and mindless destruction? Rampant sex with any man, woman, or creature? Dancing in the blood of your victims? Those are all mine, by the way, you morally upright fleshbag. Though, **Kyuubi listed, vulpine and malicious smile growing as he continued, **I guess you aren't becoming better.**

'_Yep, I definitely know what I believe,'_ Naruto thought as he shoved Kyuubi's thoughts away, '_Become nothing like the fox, keep my friends safe, and Hokage.'_

**Don't forget about Rikudo, either.**

'_Yeah, yeah, him, too.'_

Naruto stole into the house and quickly made his way to the bathroom. Sooner or later, the man was going to need to take a piss.

XxX Three Hours Later… XxX

Yamaguchi yawned as he stumbled over to the bathroom door. Absentmindedly, he turned on the light, squinting as the glow came suddenly and hit his eyes.

That glow was the last thing he saw.

SHLUNK!

The arms dealer froze. A small blade was buried to the hilt in his chest and he let out a gurgle as he fell to the floor with a thud. There was one unforeseen element in Naruto's plan.

Yamaguchi's wife and daughter were light sleepers.

"Anata?" Yamaguchi's wife muttered tiredly as she rubbed her eyes, her daughter in the next room doing the same.

Suddenly, she gasped and her eyes widened. She saw her husband's assassin.

Naruto froze as the woman screamed. _'Shit,'_ he thought frantically, '_Remember the Tenets._'He quickly gave a thought to all his options. Naruto couldn't _kill_ an innocent.

But he could knock them out.

Naruto dashed to the woman and squeezed a pressure point on her neck and she slumped down.

"Kaa-chan?" Light footsteps approached the door and it was opened. The girl screamed as she saw her parents' bodies.

"WHY?! Why did you kill them?" She cried out to the man in gray, tears pouring down her face.

"…Your father was an arms dealer. I was hired to kill him. I'm sorry." The man in gray hesitantly replied.

"Why did you kill kaa-chan, then?!"

"Merely unconscious."

"You… you're a…" she said with small relief. Suddenly, she stopped. A groan came from her room, a male one.

Her brother.

The girl got upon her knees. "Please… don't kill me or my brother," she pleaded.

The intruder froze. "I-I –"

"Nee-chan?" A face poked out from the doorway.

CRASH! Naruto jumped out the window.

"TOU-SAN!" he screamed, seeing blood only coming out of his father.

Something fell from Naruto's tool pouch, perhaps by random accident, perhaps by fate.

The callsign of the Gray Fox was clutched hard enough in the boy's hand to draw blood and his eyes were dark and angry.

One thought seemed to stick in his head as he later enrolled himself in the Ame Shinobi Academic Institute against his mother and sister's wishes and stood in the rain at his family's funeral.

Revenge against the Gray Fox.

XxX

Naruto ran as fast as he could, rain continuously falling in Ame no Kuni and Hi no Kuni as he dashed to the village in a fervor.

He didn't notice the fog roll in as it rained.

He didn't notice the ground he ran upon was gravel.

He didn't notice the boy with orange hair he ran past that was crying over a dead and bleeding woman.

All he did was keep going.

XxX

Two years had passed. Contingencies had been made. All Naruto could do now was wait.

The day had come. The day everything changed.

It was time for his Genin Exam.

XxX Chapter End XxX

**Well, this has taken a slightly dark turn at the end. I hope nobody hated the second part, as it was vital to introducing certain characters. If you can guess who the two avengers are and from what series they are from, then tell me in your review or in a PM.**

**If you get it correctly, you may realize that there are some certain elements I wish to incorporate in the future.**

**Despite the darkness at the end, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, stat pumping and other things otherwise. You kinda had expect that he'd get stats at the end of his quest.**

**Also, I hope I didn't rush things too much, but I didn't plan on adding anything in between age 10 and age 12. Anyway, next time is finally the Genin Exam! Now the story will truly begin, folks!**

**If you want to know what the other traits did, PM me or review and I may update this chapter and include them.**

**(1): Fuuton: Saiko Nagare (Wind Release: Psycho Stream) [Made by Yours Truly]**

**Naruto's Stats (Chapter 7)**

**Level 8**

**Stats:**

**Strength: 37 (7) = 63**

**Perception: 44 (3) = 57**

**Endurance: 34 (7) = 58**

**Charisma: 28 (7) = 48**

**Chakra: 30 (5) = 45**

**Intelligence: 84 (3) = 109**

**Agility: 41 (3) = 53**

**Luck: 35 (6) = 56**

**Poison skill: +44 (Base Stat: 12)**

**Chakra Sensing: 32 (Base Stat: 18)**

**Speech: +36 (Base Stat: 25)**

**Stealth: +63 (Base Stat: 30)**

**Torture: +22 (Base Stat: 12)**

**Youki Control: +15% (Base Control: 0%)**

**Kenjutsu Skill: +5 (Base Skill: 0)**

**Thank you for reading this chapter of Fishcake Chronicles. Read, review, and PM. Send me your thoughts, your flames, your criticism, or your compliments; I appreciate them all.**

**Update: I've realized that I accidentally made Naruto break one of the tenets and so I have gone back and edited the story. Sorry for my sloppiness guys, but I was REALLY tired when I wrote this and posted it. Hope you enjoy it now.**

**King, signing out.**


	8. The Damnation of Deviation

**Naruto: Fishcake Chronicles: Chapter 8**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any videogame for that matter. And I don't own Majin's or Chibi's stories. I'm simply making my own. Oh yeah, the original characters, THEY'RE MINE FUCKERS!**

**Welcome back! I'm your host HKN and I'm bringing YOU, my readers, another chapter of Fishcake Chronicles.**

**So, as you may know, I have been having a poll for the second pairing: a political marriage. Since nobody had been voting, unfortunately, I ended that poll.**

**The winner of the poll is:**

**HINATA HYUUGA!**

**Hinata Hyuuga barely won, coming in at first with 34 votes.**

**Soifon and Yugito came in second, tying at 32 votes.**

**Thank you all for voting and I hope you enjoy the pairing.**

**I will answer a few questions now.**

**TheDon1023: In the event that Naruto should not have a political marriage, I put a 'No harem' option in the poll. However, since that option has been fairly disregarded and Hinata already won, I shall say that Naruto **_**will**_** be fairly important in the future, not just in his world since Bleach won. Also, he **_**is**_** the son of a Hokage, probably the strongest one, too. I mean, he has such great political weight that the Sandaime would hide his roots just to protect him from Namikaze's enemies; that has to say something about his worth. Finally, Naruto will be Hokage. He will at least have actual political worth then, bro. This is for the future.**

**bloodyfangs35: Read Useful76's and KailSakray's reviews on chapter seven. There has to be **_**some**_** conflict and Yamaguchi's son will provide it. Plus, that would not be one of the hopefully few times that Naruto would abuse the Save Point (not unlike Chunin Exam Day); that will happen a bit later.**

**Parrot Post: Lighten up. This game is meant to span Naruto's lifetime, Parts One and Two. Eventually (and in most teens' cases, sooner), Naruto will reach that point of consummating a relationship or a marriage. Plus, the initial reason I included point loss for virginity was as a gag. That issue is highly thought of by the male society, and was included for humor, if not to ridicule Naruto in the future.**

**shootingcuz: No, Naruto will not be a playa at any point. Don't jump to conclusions at the scene with Naruto and the Hokage's secretary, as it was just to break the tension.**

**toadymoomoo: I see where you would notice the Elder Scrolls reference, but I am merely following that for stats, not in terms of Legendary Blades. And, unfortunately, neither Oblivion nor FMA will be the other Crossover Elements will be involved. I included one other as progression for the final endgame, but that's it. Too much more and I would begin to completely deviate from the storyline.**

**And a note to SupremeEntity11: I won't answer your question because, no offense, its kind of the most infinitesimal of details and is a little silly.**

**Thanks to all the people who complimented my work.**

**Now, lets begin the chapter!**

**XxX Chapter 8: The Damnation of Deviation/To Be A Genin: Part 1 XxX**

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEE–!

CRASH!

"You stupid brat! Don't throw your crap out the window!" A man yelled. Naruto merely rolled over on his side as he groaned the light that now streamed in through the now-broken window.

A second later, the blond sleepyhead bolted up, "Shit! Today's the exam!"

A few minutes later, Naruto exited the bathroom as he took note of the time based on the position of the sun: he was going to be late if hurrying wasn't his priority.

Quickly, the blond protagonist opened up his closet and got out the clothing he had prepared for the exam.

Naruto still possessed the initial armor that was imparted to him by Shao Jun and situated it to look a little more shinobi-like.

Now, he wore a long-sleeved black shirt with his vambraces that had his hidden blades covering the rest of his arms. Naruto also wore the customary light, hooded, sleeveless obsidian-dyed jacket of the Assassins over his shirt and a tool belt that appeared to be a trio of small belts around his waist. Of course, when he wore the hood, it brought a shadow to his face, acting like a reverse Kakashi; hiding his eyes instead of his mouth. His hair had grown longer and wilder and jaw-length bangs framed either side of his face, unknowingly just like his father.

In fact, the only thing that kept him from being considered rather attractive by his female classmates was the fact that he had imitated his previous personality to try to keep things as same as possible to avoid too many changes to his life Naruto could not control. As before, he had been the epitome of 'idiot blond', pranking his classmates even more than before.

Of course, the fact that Naruto could be considered attractive was something said son of the Yondaime was oblivious to.

The blond shinobi-to-be also sported the customary navy blue pants of his Jounin sensei with a kunai holster on each leg. Naruto also wore black sandals with white tape around his ankles and, to preserve a small portion of his delightful orange, an emblazoned burnt-orange spiral of Uzushiogakure both on his back and the top of his right arm along with an a tiny orange Assassin symbol upon his belt.

Upon his back, Naruto kept the leather harness/holster for his crossbow and sealed many bolts into one of his pouches. In the other two pouches, Naruto kept exploding tags, wire, and makibishi, while in the other, he kept light throwing knives, shuriken, battle seals, and other goodies of possible pain.

"Yosh! I'm all set!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke had gotten up earlier than him and already left. Rapidly, the blond Uzumaki grabbed an apple and dashed like hell for the Academy.

XxX

'_Five seconds!_' thought Naruto as he sprinted to the classroom. The shinobi-to-be kicked open the door and dove for an empty seat, uncaring of whom else was next to him.

'_Safe!_' The bell rang just as the boy crashed onto the desk and flopped to the floor. Sure, it stung a bit, but it was worth it to avoid the wrath of the Big-Head-No-Jutsu.

"Good morning, class!" Iruka exclaimed as he and Mizuki strode into the room. "As you know, today is the day of the last step to becoming a shinobi: the Genin Exam! As you know, the test consists of… " Iruka babbled as Naruto rolled his eyes and stopped paying attention to the man's oration.

The first portion of the Genin Exam was the practical portion; first was the weapons portion, then the obstacle course, and finally, the taijutsu portion.

In the weapons portion, one had to throw kunai and shuriken at a target. The tester must get eight out of ten kunai and shuriken to hit the target or six if they hit killzones.

The obstacle course was simple: run through the course in under five minutes. Of course, there were obstacles, including a large climbing wall one needed to bypass with his or her bare hands along with crawling along a trench under barbed wire and running the entire half-mile course, a few of the dangers a part of it.

To pass the taijutsu portion, the aspiring student had to last at least three minutes with the Chunin taijutsu proctor or get a hit on them.

The practical portions would all be easier than they were last time, especially the taijutsu and weapons portions; Naruto hadn't trained extensively with Tenten and Shao Jun for nothing!

"… and after the practical portion is your lunch break. Once you have completed that, you will be required to do the written exam and essay with the Jutsu portion at the end."

The bored blond bolted up suddenly. _Essay portion_? He didn't have that the first time around!

**You stupid brat! It's probably because of those ideas you gave to make sure the other humans were such large piles of quivering shit!**

Yeah, that had to be it. It couldn't have been because of him screwing with the timeline, right?

Butterfly-effect-phobia aside, Naruto recalled what he informed the Hokage in the time before the exam.

He had complained that the Bunshin was a bullshit jutsu that he couldn't get and that, even though it was needed, it wasn't by a long shot the most advanced Bunshin.

Hiruzen informed Naruto that if he wished to be tested on the Kage Bunshin, then he would pass the Bunshin no Jutsu; after all, the examiners wouldn't specify what _kind_ of Bunshin they required of him.

At the time, Naruto received a suggestion from Kyuubi and informed Sarutobi that the class rankings were completely skewed.

For example, Sakura Haruno was the best kunoichi because of her _academics_ even though her practical skills sucked. Though she was smart, Sarutobi had to agree that the girl could not be an effective shinobi if she didn't even have the stamina to keep up in a run with her classmates.

The Sandaime promised Naruto that there _would_ be reforms, but they could not happen in Naruto's year as his time in the Academy was almost over. As such, Sarutobi vowed not screw over the next years' graduates.

Overall, Naruto couldn't complain as he'd at least gotten the man to listen. Besides, now, the old man would be better prepared to fight his old student, Mr. Pedosnake.

The jinchuuriki remembered the other conversation he'd had with the acclaimed 'God of Shinobi' with a bit of a grin.

XxX Flashback XxX

"_Yo, jiji!" A ten-year-old Naruto exclaimed. The Sandaime sat at his desk stamping and signing away at forms despondently. _

"_Good afternoon, Naruto!" the old man exclaimed, a smile forming on his wrinkled face._

"_Can you come with me to Ichiraku's for lunch?"_

"_I'm sorry Naruto, but I have a lot of work."_

"_C'mon! Do you ever get out of here or do you live in this office, jiji?" Naruto complained, trying to get the man to take the bait._

"_Unfortunately, the paperwork occupies almost all of my time here, Naruto. I barely have enough time to see you when you come by," Sarutobi mournfully explained._

_Naruto grew silent before speaking once more, "Ya know, jiji, I don't think I want to be Hokage anymore. Not if it leaves me stuck at a desk like you are," he sulked._

_Sarutobi gaped at Naruto. This was probably the first time he had proclaimed he didn't want to be Hokage in his life. "At the moment, this is my job as Hokage, Naruto," he gently replied._

"_When you're Hokage, you're supposed to protect the village! How can you do that if you're stuck at a desk and can't get strong enough to do it?"_

"_I'm protecting the village in my own way, Naruto."_

_The aforementioned blond scoffed, "Yeah, sure. You know, you've been stuck behind this desk for so long, I bet even _I_ could take you down."_

_Some snapped and an unseen fire began to spark in Sarutobi's eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_Oh, are you unable to hear now, jiji? I. Can. Beat. You!" Naruto growled._

"_Brat, you're a thousand years too young to think you can beat me, the 'God of Shinobi.'" Hiruzen growled in return._

"_Then why don't you put your money where your mouth is, old man!" Naruto shouted back as he drew a few kunai and threw them at the Hokage. Said knives were knocked aside by the ANBU as one got behind Naruto, ninjato poised to slit the impudent blond's throat._

"_Stand down, Tori," the Sandaime spoke with authority. "It's high time that I show the younger generation that despite my age, I can take down any threats."_

_The aforementioned ANBU released Naruto who grinned. "Let's go: you and me at the Forest of Death!"_

_The Sandaime merely snorted at the prospect, "Is that all?"_

"_That's all an old-timer like you can handle, jiji!" Naruto called as he crashed through the window and fell to the rooftops._

"_That window was recently fixed!" Hiruzen roared, aghast and angry as he took flight faster than the eye could perceive as he jumped onto the windowsill and blasted out as fast as he could. _

"_NARUTO!"_

_XxX_

"_Holy shit! The old man's flying!" Naruto shouted as he ran like hell to the Forest of Death. '_Note to self: never piss of jiji._'_

"_NARUTO!"_

"_RUN RUN RUN LIKE A BOSS RUN LIKE A BOSS!" Naruto screamed as he pumped chakra into his legs forcing himself to go as fast as he humanly could. If only get another mile further…. Sarutobi slammed into the earth as he jumped at the same time he landed, casting his robes away, revealing his battle armor. In other words, the Sandaime threw away the vision of a gentle grandfather to become a man seeking the thrill of combat._

_Swiftly, Naruto jumped with as much forward momentum as possible as he ran through handsigns. His mouth bulged as he spat out a hot white sphere of fire, "Katon: Gokakyu no Justu!"_

_Sarutobi's hands moved so fast it was as if they weren't even moving, merely ending up in the last seal. "Suiton: Teppoudama!" A large human-sized bullet of water sped out of his mouth as he spat the jutsu straight at the massive flame. The result of the collision was a burst of steam as the bullet of water continued to charge towards Naruto, who had yet to flip upright._

_The targeted jinchuuriki paled as the bullet charged towards him. Quickly Naruto made a few handsigns before the bullet crashed into him with a torrent of water. A poof of smoke was all Sarutobi had to recognize that Naruto made a Kage Bunshin in a split second that he replaced with._

_XxX_

"_YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!" Naruto cackled as he finally managed to leap past the gate into the Forest of Death._

_Sarutobi followed wordlessly as Naruto replaced himself with a log as the Sandaime stood in a clearing. As per his training, in the split second Hiruzen stood in the clearing, he analyzed the surrounding. The Sandaime appeared to be standing in a clearing of the forest ravaged by wind chakra and near all the Taitankumos (__**A/N: Titan Spiders**__)._

_Sarutobi resisted the urge to whistle. This place had taken a beating since Naruto had opted to train there._

"_All right, old man! You do realize if I beat you here, I get that kickass hat!" Came a voice from all around him. Sarutobi snorted. Elementary voice throwing: toddler's play._

"_I'll let you have a handicap, brat! I won't use any jutsu!" Sarutobi called, appealing to Naruto's pride. He received no response, merely a vehemently thrown swarm of kunai covered in exploding tags. A large explosion rocked the clearing where the Sandaime previously stood._

"_Zero for success, Naruto!" Sarutobi shouted, standing by one of the cut up trees. Naruto refused to answer once more except with a brace of shuriken thrown at his surrogate grandfather and a gust of wind accompanying it to speed them up. Faster than the human eye, Hiruzen batted away each of the weapons within a second._

"_Kage Bunshin!" A massive horde of clones filled the clearing around Sarutobi who merely raised his hand in a challenging gesture._

"_Well? C'mon, then!" Sarutobi roared._

_Fireballs razed through the clearing, as the swarm of humans was a ruse; a ring of clones at the edges all launched fireballs at the Kami no Shinobi. _

_Naruto grinned as he raised his hands in a peace sign at the sight of the inferno of victory. "Sweet! I'm the new Hokage!"_

"_I think not."_

_The blond boy froze as the irritated leader of Konoha stood behind him, arms crossed in irritation and authority. "I'm not the Hokage for nothing, brat. Now, what was the purpose of riling me up, Naruto?"_

"_Purpose? What purpose?" said blond asked as he chuckled nervously, "I just to, uh…."_

"_To try and fight me? Bah, I'm not called 'the Professor' for nothing, Naruto. Now, _talk_." Hiruzen sternly said._

"_I just… how can you defend the village behind a desk? What if Itachi comes back? You need to be trained up to beat him in a straight fight, jiji!" Naruto nervously exclaimed. "And what if your pedosnake student comes back, jiji? I… I don't want to lose you," Naruto spoke, quietly. _

_**Pussy.**_

'Fuck you, fox! I'm trying to keep jiji alive!_' _

"_Naruto…" Sarutobi sighed, resisting the urge to smile and laugh at the mention of his former student being a rather hilarious pedosnake, "couldn't you have just said that to me?"_

_The aforementioned blond blinked._

"_Um…whoops? Ehehe?"_

_Sarutobi's eyebrow twitched as he suddenly chopped Naruto's neck, knocking the boy unconscious and lifting him upon his shoulders. _

'Perhaps he's right… I do need to get back into training. Plus, what **will**__do whenever Orochimaru may come? Rely on Jiraiya and Tsunade? No, I made the mistake of letting my wayward student live. I will correct my mistake!_' Hiruzuen thought fiercely as he plodded on, a relit fire in his eyes as he plodded on, midget jinchuuriki resting upon his shoulder._

_XxX Flashback End XxX_

When Naruto had arisen in his room at the Uchiha Compound, there was a note near on his table. When he read it, Naruto nearly crushed said letter in his hands. Apparently, the jinchuuriki-Assassin blond was given something even the gods would despise.

Ramen ban.

Naruto almost considered trying to attack the Hokage when reading the note, but decided against it once he read it was for a week. Still, the Sandaime would be getting back into his training and, perhaps, there was his jiji would live through the Invasion.

However, there was no reason to forbid the tryst between him and his ramen! Bloody heathen against the food of the gods…

No time to worry about that now. It was time to fail his test! Hopefully, things would turn out the same: Mizuki would ask him to steal the Scroll, the awesome future Hokage would do so and kick the traitor's ass and perhaps get another peek at the Scroll out of it.

Hopefully, things would go right or, rather, wrong.

XxX

"Next! Uzumaki Naruto!" Hearing his name called, Naruto leapt out of his seat and landed near the door going to the weapons' posts.

"Okay, Naruto, throw your kunai and shuriken at these four posts, five on each," Iruka explained. It was nice for Naruto to have his old scar-nosed teacher once more. Though, they weren't really as close as they were back in Naruto's first life as he had to train more often, go off and complete assassinations, train in the Forest of Death….

Well, you get the gist.

Naruto drew two kunai in each hand before taking a deep breath. The blond jinchuuriki snapped his wrists forward in correct throwing technique as Tenten and Shao Jun had taught him.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

Not bothering to look at where his kunai landed at the moment, Naruto finished with a little flair as he spun and threw his last kunai with a more force than the others.

THUNK!

On the human dummy-target, Naruto struck with all of his kunai; one at the head, one at the throat, one in the dummy's gut, though slightly off-target, one just off the kidney, and the last one was sunk to the hilt in the dummy's heart.

Iruka's eyebrows rose, as he stood impressed at Naruto's performance. "Good job, Naruto! You hit the target with all five kunai and had three killshots! You did pretty well, almost as well Sasuke!" Iruka beamed.

Naruto sighed, as he repeated the same feat, not completely caring, gaining three killshots once more while one was slightly off, sinking deep into the right arm of the dummy.

"Great work, Naruto! Though, your aim with the last kunai was a little off, but nice work! You pass this portion!" Iruka exclaimed.

Naruto walked over to gather his kunai before moving onto the shuriken section. '_Looks like I'm still in Sasuke's shadow, huh?'_ When Naruto made a move to grab the last kunai, he froze.

His tenth kunai was buried in almost the exact same location that a Cursed Seal-driven Sasuke buried his Chidori into a helpless Naruto's frame.

Stiffly, Naruto yanked out the kunai from the dummy and moved on to the shuriken portion where he scored once more under Sasuke.

He couldn't but feel uneasy about the situation and he that something… ominous would happen after he had examined the last kunai.

XxX One Hour Later…/After Obstacle Course… XxX

BRRRING!

"Break time!"

XxX

Sasuke stood outside the Academy at the wooden training posts for taijutsu training. He was doing some quick practice for the taijutsu portion of the test but was tired of what he had done for the past few minutes. The raven haired Uchiha sighed, before he had a sudden urge to train with his weapons. Which one did he want to use…?

Wires.

He _was _pretty good with them. Plus, he could probably train his chakra control while doing so. Sasuke pulled out metal wires to stick to his fingers for some quick practice.

He had come upon this method after learning the tree climbing exercise. Apparently, sticking the wires to the tip of his fingers like Suna puppeteers would was the next step to growing more accomplished and deadly with wire techniques. Though, he had yet to find a way to become more effective with them.

One tactic that he had thought of was using shuriken with his Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu and wires. Simply, he would throw shuriken connected to wires and bind the opponent before using his Ryuuka in conjunction with his wires to incinerate his enemy. It cost a bit of chakra considering it was a powerful jutsu, but that method was killer.

He needed something… simpler. Absentmindedly, he tried to lope the wire around the nearest wooden post, but failed. Growling, Sasuke unconsciously channeled chakra into the wire as he tried once more. Suddenly, the wire traveled with the Uchiha's thoughts as they moved exactly as he wanted before looping around the log. When he tugged the wires, Sasuke was shocked.

The log was sliced apart like cheese.

It remained in a stack, looking the same as before, yet its newly segmented nature was revealed when an uneven portion of wood slid off the top.

Sasuke stared in shock as he looked at his fingers before his eyes glinted with a thirst for more. However, the bell rang and he was forced to put away his wire.

This would require further experimentation after he passed the exam.

XxX

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka called once more. It was time for the aforementioned student's taijutsu spar with Iruka.

The ninja-to-be strolled over to the ring, training weights on his legs in place. Naruto began to use them after he saw Sasuke continue his training with Gai. At Gai's behest, he kept them tied to his legs beneath his pants. At the moment, when Naruto's weights were removed, he was rather fast, slightly faster than Lee with his weights, who had stopped at the age of ten because the weights were, in his next visit to the doctor, prescribed as detrimental to his body's growth despite the speed training.

Naruto, however, could continue to wear them because of the Kyuubi. Since Kurama continued to repair his body faster than the weights could affect his body, Naruto could use the weights without stunting his growth… that much. He still was a bit of a midget from all the ramen, but a bit taller from his training.

"Naruto, you'll be fighting me this time," Iruka intoned taking a stance as Naruto did.

Said blond grinned as he hopped on the balls of his feet, "Neh, Iruka-sensei, you're going down!"

Naruto charged at Iruka sloppily and restricted his assault quite a bit. In fact, he passed by lasting the time limit having taken quite a few blows: a feat of sheer stamina, or so the proctors would've thought.

Since the taijutsu portion was given in reverse order of surnames, Naruto was one of the first to take the tests. As he returned to Academy classroom where the majority of the class was waiting, the Uzumaki bore witness to Sasuke striding out to the arena for his examination, his visage one of boredom while his eyes betrayed distraction and rumination.

As in his previous and now current life, Sasuke would grace near perfect scores, or, at least, that was what the blond Uzumaki predicted.

Naruto ambled into the classroom where everyone was sitting. Sakura was chattering to Ino about the scores they had received and quietly boasted to Ino that she had done better than the aforementioned Yamanaka.

Speaking of Sakura, Naruto still had a large crush on her, but decided not to ask her for dates everyday. After all, he had seen how annoying it could be if someone perved on you or wanted to sex you up everyday you were in their presence (i.e. Jiraiya and Tsunade). So, if he didn't let her know of his crush just yet, he would probably have a better chance with her!

At least, that was Naruto's flawed logic.

Chouji sat next to Shikamaru, munching on some chips (barbeque perhaps?) while the latter had laid his cranium upon the top of the desk.

Kiba was bragging to Akamaru while next to the Akimichi-Nara duo that he would ace the taijutsu portion and Shino sat a few rows behind Kiba, being… Shino.

Still, Naruto was missing one of the rookies that had participated with him and the others. Who…?

'_Ah! Hinata! Where is she?'_ Naruto's eyes wandered and locked on Hinata, sitting on the other side of Shino, huddled up in her coat and trying not to make eye contact with neither Naruto nor the rest of the class.

The blond Gamer paused at the front of the class, looking at Hinata and remembering what had happened. She had been severly injured at and by her cousin's hands, which had tried to kill her!

Trying to dredge up the memories of their limited interactions, the blond Uzumaki recalled her stating her nindo, the same as his own: to never go back on promises. Naruto remembered seeing her coughing up blood and him swearing to defeat Neji.

The ninja-to-be clenched his fists when he remembered the kind words spoken by a still-wounded Hinata on his way to the Chunin Exam Finals and that such a kind person dealt with such hate from her cousin.

Oh yeah. Naruto would definitely make sure Hinata would beat Neji or he would beat some sense into Neji harder because a good person like that didn't deserve such pain.

"Oi, Naruto! You lost or something or did you finally go bonkers from all your ramen?" Kiba shouted, drawing the blond out of his thoughts.

"Ramen is the food of the gods! I should actually be asking _you_ if you've gone insane from all the kibble you eat, mutt! I know I would!" Naruto shot back.

"You wanna fight, Naruto?" The Inuzuka growled.

"That's not what would happen between us, Kiba! Three words: one-sided slaughter!" growled Naruto in return.

"Oi! Stop your dick measuring contest and sit down!" shouted a student Naruto couldn't identify. The girls in the class gasped while Hinata fainted at the thought of Naruto's… well, you get the gist.

"Bah, we all know who would win that," Naruto grumbled.

"Yeah," Kiba continued, nodding.

"ME!" The two shouted in unison, before glaring at each other.

"Guys, shut up," Shikamaru groaned, "I'm trying to take a nap."

"Fine, we'll let the genius sleep," Naruto sighed. He strutted down the aisle and decided to take a seat next to the mousy Hyuuga.

Meanwhile, while Shikamaru had his head down, his eyes were open narrowly. '_How did he know I'm a genius?'_

At the same time, Naruto frowned as he remembered Sasuke killing him. The game scores he had stated that he had lost points because he had 'Ignored Hinata.' What did that mean?

The blond glanced at the passed out bluenette. What was there to ignore? Sure, he didn't speak to her that often, but Naruto hadn't _totally_ ignored her.

So what was he missing?

He'd have to ask her once she'd returned to the land of the living.

XxX

Hinata Hyuuga was not a dirty girl. She'd been raised in the highest order of refinement. She was of a noble clan, despite being its greatest failure.

Yet, when someone talked about Naruto-kun's…

THUMP!

She was out like a light.

Thirty minutes later, Hinata stirred as light from the windows began to stream in and shine upon her silky, short blue hair.

"Rise and shine, Hinata-chan!" That voice was… familiar. Who would call her Hinata-chan…?

"Are you okay?" Concerned blue eyes engulfed her vision as the face of the one whom she couldn't even speak to, much less be in such close proximity as he was now.

"N-N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata squeaked, her face turning tomato red within an instant as her eyes rolled back; she passed again immediately.

XxX

Naruto blinked as the girl he was staring at turned a deep shade of red and conked out. '_Shit, is she sick or something? Or is she just afraid of me? No, I don't _think_ being afraid involves becoming that red.'_ Naruto pondered the reasons of why the girl fell unconscious until an Academy teacher snapped him out of his reverie.

"Hyuuga Hinata!" he called, asking for her to take the taijutsu portion of the Genin Exam.

"Uh, she's not feeling too good!" Naruto responded nervously. What if the examiner thought he'd hurt her or something?

The Academy teacher took one look at how close Naruto was to Hinata and her slowly paling yet still red face before sighing. "I've got it," he spoke, "though, you may want to move away Naruto."

"Huh? Why?"

"So she doesn't faint again," said the teacher, walking over to Hinata and putting something under her nose. Smelling salts, perhaps?

Her pale white, almost lavender eyes fluttered open and she let out a small squeak. "Ah, um, I," she fumbled, face starting to get red once more, making the instructor sigh again.

"Just go out for the taijutsu portion, Hinata," he said weakly. Hinata nodded jerkily before quickly escaping the room in embarrassment.

"Why does she faint around me so much?" Naruto thought aloud.

The whole class STARED at him, wondering how oblivious the boy could be.

Finally, the instructor who woke up Hinata merely shrugged and replied, "Ask her at lunch. But for now, back to your seats, everyone."

XxX

In a supply room at the Academy, a white-haired Academy instructor cackled maliciously as he grasped a black snake with eyes that were yellow and slit. He rolled up his sleeve before moving the snake's face near his exposed arm.

The snake quickly bit him, causing him to curse lowly as he dropped the snake, which slithered away, Kami knows where. A mark appeared on his arm, reforming into characters that spelled instructions.

"I see…" he spoke slowly, "then I'll have to keep a clone hear for my grand plan," the white-haired man whispered before smirking evilly.

"Soon, with Orochimaru's power, I'll be the strongest! Rhe demon will be dead and the world will fear me, Mizuki!"

XxX

Shino walked in the through the entrance to his classroom after his test of hand-to-hand combat. He didn't appear that fazed after his test, though if one looked closely enough, his breathing patterns were slightly irregular and he had a small bead of sweat on his forehead, indicating him being slightly tired since he got a strike on Iruka.

"Okay, now that the first half of your exam is over, you will have a lunch break and then a written portion along with a final jutsu test. Please enjoy your break before your final exams. Dismissed!" Iruka spoke authoritatively.

The kids began to chatter and started to file out to consume their bentos outside the classroom. However, Naruto searched the crowd and finally found who he was looking for.

The blond narrowed his eyes as he saw them try to hide, possibly from him. '_Well, might as well make good use of my training,_' Naruto thought. He waited a second and saw his target go through the door before following.

Keeping his feet light, Naruto skulked behind his objective and, when she stepped outside, he stealthily positioned himself behind a tree.

Perhaps he was being a bit theatrical, but precautions were always necessary. Naruto supposed that came from the paranoia of being an Assassin and… living his life once more.

As the girl he followed sat down and ate her lunch behind a tree, Naruto quickly followed before knocking on tree trunk, indicating a presence to his classmate. A startled squeak greeted him as Naruto stepped past the tree trunk and out into the open.

"N-N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata stuttered. She was sitting with an unopened bento at her side as Naruto stood in front of her.

However, Naruto was not full of smiles. His face and body language spoke of curiousity

"Uh, Hinata-chan, I need to talk to you," he said lowly.

XxX

Hinata's face turned red as she considered the implications of her crush having followed her out to where she ate her bento. She sagged, however.

How could the Hyuuga heiress not detect someone following them if she had three-hundred-and-sixty degree vision and could see through objects?

'_Only if she was a failure,_' Hinata thought sadly. '_I bet that's what he thinks._' She was so preoccupied by her thoughts that she almost missed Naruto speaking.

"Uh, Hinata-chan, I need to talk to you."

The girl felt her cheeks flare up at the honorific then grew scared. What did he want to talk about? Did he think she was weird for passing out in front of him? Did he hate her because of that? Or did he come to tell her that he thought she was pathetic because of him managing to sneak up on her even if she had the Byakugan?

"O-okay, b-but about what, N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata mumbled weakly, averting her eyes.

"Why do you always faint around me, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

_Ba-dump._

_Ba-dump._

_Ba-dump._

'_OH MY GOD!_' she mentally screamed. He was asking her why? She couldn't tell him! Well, not yet anyway! What should she say?

Eyes widening, cheeks growing red, and breath hitched, Hinata babbled, "I-I-I, u-um, Naruto-kun, I – "

She shook her head.

She would tell him now. She had sworn to herself that her nindo would be his: never giving up. Hinata Hyuuga would not give up on that now!

"N-Naruto-kun, I," she began, gathering her resolve.

"It's because I… I like you."

XxX

"It's because I… I like you."

Naruto's eyes widened. '_WHAT?'_ he mentally screamed. '_SHE LIKES ME? WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO?'_ he mentally panicked.

**Bang her.**

'_Damn it, something that isn't stupid, perverted, and just plain cruel!_'

**Are you sure? Because I'm fucking sure that's what she wants.**

'_Help me think of something to say!'_ Naruto pleaded.

**Sorry, all out of help.** Kyuubi yawned. **Rape, destruction, despair, and related items are on sale today, though!**

Great: useless fox-mode it was, then. '_Think of something to say damnit!'_ Naruto furiously thought.

"Hinata-chan," Naruto spoke after a long pause, seemingly tasting the word, "how long have you had these feelings?"

"F-for a while now," Hinata replied, stutter growing less abundant.

"Listen, Hinata," he said, trying to make the words he was about to say sound better, "I… haven't known you well enough to reciprocate those feelings of affection or love or, fuck, I don't know," he cursed.

"But," he spoke, before she could sag or cry out of sadness (because she _really_ looked as if she would), "lets get to be _friends_ first if we ever shift into any situation like that. In fact," he declared, grinning suddenly, "we'll be the best of friends!"

'_C'mon, please work, please work!'_ he prayed, hoping his faith in the Sage would pay off.

Hinata trembled before a small smile crept up on her face. "I-I think I u-understand, Naruto-kun. Th-that's a g-good idea," she said, a tear leaking out of her eye.

Though she may not yet have had her love returned, Naruto telling her that there was even a _chance_ was wonderful enough to her. She would make sure that if they were friends for now, they would certainly be more later.

"Great!" he shouted, looking visibly relieved. "Now, lets get to know each other –" He was interrupted by a large growl emanating from his stomach, causing him to sheepishly rub the back of his head, "over some lunch."

Hinata giggled, a comforting sound to Naruto.

XxX

Fifteen minutes had passed and they were chatting amiably at the tree together, talking about their lives, though Hinata was the only one to speak about her family.

"It sounds like neither your father nor that jerk, Neji, respect you," Naruto finally said begrudgingly. "That shouldn't bother you. They think you're weak because you're kind and not perfect; that's bullshit 'cuz nobody is. They

"T-thank you, N-Naruto-kun," she stammered, blushing.

"I have an idea to solve both of your problems: when the Chunin Exams come, enter them, because I bet your cousin will, too," the blond spoke, "so when you enter, beat him and your father and your cousin will finally show some respect. If you don't get to fight him," he said, ending with a shrug, "getting Chunin would probably suffice."

"B-but how? Ch-Chunin rank i-is for those who a-are strong," she mumbled. "A-And N-Neji-niisan is a genius; I c-can't beat him!" she burst out.

"If we pass the Genin Exam, I promise," he swore, "we'll train together! I'll convince our senseis to train together and we'll both grow strong for the Chunin Exam. And even if I fail," he continued, ignoring her flinch, "I'll just make sure you get stronger and stronger until you can beat the stuck-up jerk!"

"That's a promise and I'll keep it! That's my nindo, my shinobi way!" Naruto declared, Hinata looking on, awed.

"Amazing…" she breathed.

Naruto chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, "But for now, I guess the first step would be to start increasing your stamina and learn elemental recomposition for your primary elemental affinity."

Hinata looked a little awed at the suggestion, though her eyes mostly glinted with mischievousness, "O-oh? Since w-when did you s-start using big words, N-Naruto-kun?" She joked, unable to hold back a smile.

"I'm not that stupid," Naruto mock grumbled, kicking the ground. "I read."

**No, your clones do you lazy mortal.** Kyuubi interjected, unable to prevent himself from joining in ridiculing his container. **Though, I suppose all though intelligence points you've been earning have helped.**

'_Yeah, maybe,_' Naruto pondered. Just then the bell rang.

"You better get to class, Hinata-chan. I'll catch up," he said, picking up his unpacked bento box, gesturing her to leave with her packed and empty one.

"O-okay, Naruto-kun," Hinata replied. "Oh, and Naruto-kun?" The aforementioned boy raised his head and caught a very delighted smile as Hinata continued without a stutter.

"Thank you."

Hinata ran off to the Academy as Naruto picked up his box, smiling as well as relaxing at her smile. '_It's good to be the nice guy once in a while,_' Naruto thought.

**Nice guys finish last, brat; they're losers. And in the bed, they finish first. **Kyuubi snorted.

'_I'll ignore that with a grain of salt and a "Fuck You!" for your troubles,'_ Naruto mockingly returned.

Before he could return to the Academy, Naruto was once again reminded of the Game's presence as the world bled to black and white.

**Minor Check: Speech Check (35): COMPLETE! Grade: Pass! Bonus: Speech: +4! Experience Gained: 50!**

**Karmic Ranking Changed: 'Neutral' to 'First-Class Friend'!**

A large fishcake with an arrow and a large monitor, showing an arrow that was in the middle between the right-and-red side and the left-and-blue side, showed the arrow shifting slightly to the left.

"Speech Check and Karma? Fuck, just tell me what those are," Naruto cursed.

**Checks: Situations that test a statistic. With a high enough skill or statistic level, you can pass a check and get the desired result. Failing a Minor Check, while bad, will not have a HUGE effect on you or the people around you. Failing a Major Check, however, will. Failing a Major Check can have dire consequences for the ones involved and it is suggested that you do all you can to complete them. You may choose to go through a Major Check or not but you will go through Minor Checks in any case.**

"This was only a Minor Check?" Naruto shouted, disbelieving of the information. "Fine," he finally grumbled, "what's Karma?"

**Karmic Conundrum: With certain situations comes a Karmic Aspect that may or may not be identified. With changes in Karma come different benefits and downsides. For example, if one has a solely Good Karma, people will love him and his appearance will change to reflect his Good. Also, certain techniques, items, Outfits, positions, and Bonuses will be available to use. However, that means that objects of Evil Karma are locked to one of Good.**

**If one has Evil Karma, they shall be feared by those around him and the One of Evil Karma's appearance shall reflect his maliciousness. Other things apply and vice-versa with Good Karma. Keep in mind, though, Infamy also plays a part in reactions. **

**Once one's Good or Evil has reached high enough proportions, they will have Absolute Karma and bonuses apply. Events can occur that lead to Absolute Karma, but those are rare. Once one is Absolute, only by using Karmic Overload, which is available at Absolute Karma, can affect one's Karma.**

"Holy shit," Naruto breathed. This was the ticket to his dream! All he wanted in his first life was to be loved and acknowledged and, now, Naruto could change people's opinion of with a bunch of good deeds!

Of course, it wasn't much deviation from his original goals or deeds, but now, they would have a significant effect _and _he would be rewarded for them!

**Evil, Evil, Evil!** The fox chanted.

'_Shut up, Kyuubi,_' a now exasperated Naruto thought. The words disappeared and the fishcake flew into his mouth, imbibing him with power and causing him to swell and contract back to normal appearance. The world became Technicolor once more and, as it did, Naruto blinked.

"Fuck! I'll be late for the Exam!" Naruto shouted as he scrambled to the door, Kyuubi roaring in laughter the entire time.

XxX

The written exam was over and the teachers began to pass out the essay papers. Naruto's thoughts began to race after he examined the prompt he was given and pencils began to scribble as he considered it.

_This essay is meant to examine a person's opinions, goals, and aspirations and help teachers devise training suited to the students. This essay is optional, though it is recommended you write one._

_Your prompt: "Who is or was the greatest shinobi in the world? Explain why."_

'_Well lets see… I can't put myself,_' Naruto thought, '_and I'm pretty sure it would raise a few flags if I began to spout poetic tales about the Rikudo Sennin, even if you knew about him, fox._'

Kyuubi remained silent at Naruto's thoughts as the boy continued to think.

'_I would write about dad, but, I'd be lying if I thought he was the greatest; the Sage is better. Maybe I should write about jiji or the Shodaime or,'_ Naruto thought, idea coming begrudgingly, '_Madara Uchiha –_'

**Just leave it blank.** Kyuubi interrupted, tone neutral and not conveying any emotion. **It's optional so you don't have to do it.**

'_Ohh yeaah… thanks, fox,_' Naruto thought as he dropped his pencil and decided to take a nap.

The fox remained silent as Naruto closed his eyes.

Ironically, the only other person to realize the essay was optional was Shikamaru who immediately started to sleep before Naruto could.

XxX

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto's head shot up as he grinned to his classmates, most with hitae-ites, including Hinata.

Once he stepped in the other room, Naruto's eyes locked on a placid and smiling Mizuki.

**Fail and get the Scroll, brat.**

'_Gotcha.'_

"Okay, Naruto, for the Jutsu portion of the exam, lets start off with the Kawarimi no Jutsu."

Immediately after Iruka said that, Naruto decided to have a little fun and replaced himself with Iruka.

What he didn't realize was how tough that should be. To replace with another person, the user must be using more chakra than the replacee has and overpower them. This was a _very _unorthodox maneuver and, if done, could only be done with a willing partner.

However, if the target was caught off guard, the Replacement could go without a hitch.

POOF!

Iruka fell to the floor as Naruto adopted a stern tone after getting out of the chair he Replaced to.

"Not good enough! Failure for YOU, bitch!" Naruto bellowed, pointing at the stunned and fallen Iruka.

It was no surprise then that Mizuki fell into hysterics and Iruka immediately shot up and used the Big-Head-No-Jutsu at full power.

"NARUTO! YOU'RE IN BIG TROUBLE!" Iruka shouted.

In response, the ever so tactful and kind Naruto merely picked up Iruka's afternoon mug and took a sip and spat it out was in it on his teacher who screeched in response.

"Hmm! Don't like hot cocoa, but its just how I love my women: hot and covered in whipped cream!" Naruto exclaimed, waggling his eyebrows quite suggestively.

_Of course_, Naruto said this quite loudly and more girls than Hinata swooned in embarrassment as others roared for different reasons: some in laughter and some out of rage against perverts.

"GIVE ME BACK MY COCOA, DAMNIT!" Iruka howled, looking angry enough that vessels seemed to pop out of his head in rage, though his cheeks were slightly colored by a blush from Naruto's comment.

XxX

"Now, display the Transformation Jutsu, Naruto," Iruka coughed, his voice growing slightly angrier after Naruto's prank with Kawarimi, "and if you pull out that bullshit Orioke, I'm failing you right now!" he ended with a yell.

A dismayed Naruto put up his hands in the appropriate seal and he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

In his place was the Fourth Hokage, looking very nervous as he shifted his eyes about, "I hope they don't find out why I'm called The Yellow Flash," he muttered.

"NARUTO!" Iruka raged, having caught the innuendo (or several, which was what the blond was going for) about the Yondaime's moniker.

In a poof of smoke Naruto was once again himself, rubbing the back of his head nervously, "Jeez, I did the Henge and added a joke. Lighten up, Iruka-sensei!" he exclaimed.

Iruka sighed in exasperation, though he and Mizuki were slightly transfixed on the idea of Naruto looking a good bit like their late leader.

Snapping himself out of his reverie, Iruka worriedly spoke, "Okay, now you passed the first test so all you need to do is the Bunshin."

Naruto gave a fake grin and shouted, "You've got it Iruka-sensei!" Drawing up an amount of chakra that was more than Iruka's full capacity, Naruto shouted, "Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A boom of smoke covered the room and at Naruto's side were two dead and deformed clones, looking worse than shit that was eaten, puked, and shit out again in a continuous cycle.

"I'm sorry Naruto… but if you cannot make two Bunshin, I'm afraid you cannot pass the Genin Exam," he said sadly.

"Oh come on, Iruka," Mizuki chimed in as he had done so in his previous life, "they don't look that bad and he did make the required amount."

Right on cue, Naruto gave a pseudo-hopeful look to Iruka with large pleading eyes. '_Damn, if I didn't want to be a kickass ninja, I would be an amazing actor,_' Naruto thought.

Iruka shook his head, "I'm afraid those are the rules, Mizuki. Unless Naruto produces two working clones, I'm afraid I have to fail him."

Naruto froze before letting off a fake fake-grin to the pair of them, "Don't worry, Iruka-sensei, I'm sure I'll be able to make it next year," Naruto exclaimed, breaking his voice in the right place to display his false sadness.

"Naruto," Iruka began before the mentioned blond ran off into the classroom and sat in his seat. Iruka tiredly sighed and called off, "Yamanaka Ino!"

XxX

Naruto sat forlornly at the shaded swing, watching his classmates meet their families, almost all ecstatic about passing. This time, however, he could overhear the chattering by some of the women at the Academy.

"There. You see him? It's that boy. I heard he's the only one who failed."

"Hmph. Well, it serves him right."

"Just imagine what would happen if he became a ninja. I mean, he's the boy who –"

"Shh! We're not allowed to talk about that! Remember the Third's law!"

'_Wow, women can be total bitches,_' Naruto thought, feeling a little angry at their words.

All his classmates were rejoicing, though Shino, Shikamaru, and Hinata all looked back at him as they left with their families. Hinata looked sad and appeared as though she wished to say something, but her stern father forced her along the path to the Hyuuga Compound.

"Hey, Naruto," Sasuke said as he stepped out from behind the tree with the swing Naruto was on. "I –"

"Don't, Sasuke," Naruto doing a great job of keeping his cool and a false gloominess, "I'll meet you back at home. Just go, 'kay?"

Sasuke hesitated but nodded and left as per the blond's wishes. A little later, what Naruto expected greeted him.

"Hey, Naruto," Mizuki said with a smile.

Meanwhile, the Sandaime stood by Iruka who was watching Naruto. "Iruka," the Sandaime began, "there's something we need to talk about."

XxX

"Iruka-sensei's tough but he's not against you," Mizuki spoke as the blond protagonist and the said sensei sat on the roof of Naruto's old apartment.

"I can't see that, given how he's always so tough against me."

"He wants you to be strong, but that will never happen if he goes easy on you. He's like you, you know; no parents, no family."

"He lost them in the Kyuubi attack?" Naruto asked.

"I'm afraid so," Mizuki replied sadly.

Naruto sighed. "It's just… this time, I really wanted to graduate."

Mizuki gave a small chuckle. "Then… I guess I have to tell you," Mizuki said with a small smirk. "There is an optional extra Genin Exam that tests your practical skills. It's considered extra credit for those who may not make the cut. Now, others haven't been given this test but I don't think they've wanted to graduate as much as you have. Do you want me to tell you the details?"

"Yes, Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto boisterously pleaded, "I just need a chance! C'mon, tell me!"

"Alright, alright. Your test is that you," Mizuki said, pausing for effect, "must acquire the Scroll of Sealing. Of course, the Hokage will be in on it and you have to try to get it, so don't worry about what may happen; just get it and take it to the forest. There is a special safehouse within the northwestern forests of Konoha," Mizuki explained, "Take the Scroll there and you'll pass."

Naruto gave a grin and shouted, "Got it!" The blond proceeded to give Mizuki a great big hug which Mizuki returned with a chuckle. When Naruto let go, Mizuki waved goodbye before Shunshinning away.

Naruto merely grinned and formed his favorite handsign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A poof of smoke appeared and another Naruto came along with it.

"The tracking seal I planted on Mizuki is in effect," the original explained, "so I need you to follow Mizuki and then dispel yourself when he starts to come after me. That way, I'll know when the bastard comes to attack me and I'll be able to protect Iruka!"

Naruto's clone merely responded with a grin and a salute before leaping to the rooftops and followed the signal sent by the tracking seal.

The original Naruto looked to his old apartment door before shrugging and heading to the Hokage Tower to initiate his ruse.

XxX One Hour Later… XxX

Iruka lay in his bed, pondering all that the Hokage told him.

_Iruka…_

_What is it, Hokage-sama?_

_I know how you feel. You grew up just like Naruto, without the love of a mother and father or the warmth of a family._

Memories of that _day_ flashed through his mind; the day his parents died. Iruka suppressed a shudder; he could almost see that gigantic, lazy looking eye that held so much anger, so much hate.

So much malice.

Yet, Kyuubi felt so little when it was crushing people, tearing families apart, destroying everything.

Monstrous.

So caught up he was in his memories that he didn't notice Mizuki knocking at his door and, eventually, when he didn't answer, barging in.

"Iruka, wake up!" Mizuki exclaimed.

"What? What is it?" Iruka asked, worried.

"You need to come to the Hokage-sama's right away! It's Naruto: he stole the sacred Scroll!"

XxX

"You mean the Scroll of Sealing? No!"

Naruto's clone heard those words as hid himself away from Mizuki. He had followed Mizuki's tracking seal until here, where Iruka lived.

'_Right, better follow them,_' the clone thought as he took after the sprinting pair of Chunin.

XxX

The clone quickly transformed into a nondescript chunin and joined the meeting that was a large group of off-duty chunin, jonin, and Anbu. As he stepped in, Naruto's clone heard peoples' opinions about him stealing the scroll.

"Hokage-sama, this is not just a prank; this is a crime!" someone shouted.

"That scroll contains kinjutsu and secrets that were sealed by Shodaime-sama; secrets known only to our village!" someone else continued.

"If it falls into the wrong hands, then, whoever has it can destroy our entire way of life," another chunin argued.

"Alright, bring Naruto here at once," the Sandaime commanded.

"Sir!" They all saluted before jumping away simultaneously and swiftly. Naruto's clone quickly followed Mizuki who was making his way to the forest where the original was.

XxX Five Minutes Later… XxX

Naruto was sitting outside the cabin with the scroll by him. He gleefully unfurled it, while thinking, '_Hello, beautiful and deadly jutsu.'_

**Kid.** Kyuubi suddenly said. **There are two things of interest in this scroll; check it to see if the seal chaining me to you is written in it.**

Naruto was curious why the fox wanted to know about his seal before shrugging, '_Alright._' Naruto unfurled the scroll past many entries.

Though there were many jutsu that looked promising, Naruto kept going till Kyuubi intoned, **There.**

Naruto looked up and found a massive and complicated seal-script. Quickly, Naruto took out a scroll and created another two clones that dedicated themselves to writing the seal down: one for the description and one for the seal itself.

**Now, listen carefully. I sense something very similar to that special Apple that teacher of yours had.**

Naruto's eyes narrowed. '_There is a Piece of Eden in here?_' he thought, remembering the Apple Shao Jun had.

When he held it, the Apple of Eden felt like a ball of fire that twisted and seemed to probe his mind for but a moment before glowing and floating above his hand. A golden light exploded above and Shao Jun immediately made her presence known. However, the golden light, like it had Naruto, transfixed her.

The golden light shaped into a rectangular picture and lines began to appear on it. Naruto recognized it with great shock.

It was a map of the Elemental Nations.

However, what immediately drew his attention was a glowing and flickering dot on the map that was located where Hi no Kuni would be on a map.

Then the light died down and, before the Apple could fall into his hand, Shao Jun took it with a pale face and ordered him to never to touch it again. With that crazy look on her face, there was no telling what she would do.

She did, however, speak to him about what the dot meant.

_There are only so few Pieces of Eden in the world, Naruto. Fortunately, or unfortunately in my opinion, there is one in the Hi no Kuni. If you have the chance to obtain it, then do so and lock it away. Some Pieces are better left unattainable._

'_I don't believe it,_' Naruto thought dumbfounded. '_The only Piece of Eden in the Nations and it's in the Scroll of Sealing._'

**Yes, yes, your luck is grand,** Kyuubi snapped, **now, keep unrolling the scroll and copying the seal. I'll tell you when I find the Piece.**

Naruto kept unraveling the scroll, and it was a minute or two later when Kyuubi exclaimed, **There!**

The entry was under the 'Unknown' section of the scroll.

_Artifact: Mystical Sword And Staff_

_Properties: Unbreakable Sword and Mystical Staff W/Odd Energy Radiating From It._

_Hokage: Sandaime_

_Commentary: After the Second Shinobi World War, the two artifacts were found side-by-side in a hidden cave within the ruins of Uzushiogakure that only ANBU could have found. They appear to have old origins and the power radiating from them suggests they were weapons._

**Unseal them!**

Naruto quickly channeled chakra into the seal below the entry and in a puff of smoke out appeared a worn-looking katana and a staff with six rings on it that appeared to belong to a monk.

**Kid…** Kyuubi breathed, **These are…**

The fox was interrupted as heard a crack coming from the bushes.

Somehow, if it was divine chance, Naruto held the staff and sword in one hand. When he did, the two items began to glow brightly and Naruto turned to look at them but was blinded by the light.

When the glow died down, Naruto looked at the items in his hand.

There was only one item left.

The worn down katana looked brand new and gleamed with an unknown quality. There was a small opening at the bottom of the sword's hilt and strung through it was a ring, like from the staff.

**Item Obtained! 'Unknown Sword!' Obtained: Piece of Eden: Sword of Eden! Experience Gained: 100!**

**WOULD YOU LIKE TO EQUIP IT?**

**YES**

**NO**

Barely understanding what was going on, Naruto punched the 'YES' block before the sword disappeared and reappeared in a scabbard held to his side by his belt. At that point the clones rerolled the Scroll, having finished copying down the seal and the description.

Naruto caught the original scroll and dispelled his clones.

Yet, another one dispelled as well.

Naruto's eyes widened as the memories of first clone he'd made flooded his mind.

XxX Flashback XxX

_Naruto's clone followed the dashing Mizuki, chasing him –_

_Suddenly, something changed._

_For some reason, Mizuki went to where Iruka was going. With a burst of speed, Naruto's clone caught up to Mizuki who stood by Iruka._

"_Iruka, listen to me," Mizuki began. "I didn't say this at the meeting but… I saw Naruto go that way!" he shouted, pointing to the northwestern forest where the original was._

"_What? Why didn't you report that to Hokage-sama?" Iruka cried._

"_Because, at the meeting, I wasn't sure if anyone there who went would have brought back Naruto alive."_

_Iruka gasped before a determined look crossed his face. "You can count on me, Mizuki. I'll get Naruto and the Scroll back!"_

_Iruka dashed as fast as he could to the original's location._

_The clone gaped. What was happening? Iruka was _supposed_ to find him an hour later, when he would 'master' the Kage Bunshin!_

_Trying to figure out what the _fuck_ was going on, the clone continued to chase after Mizuki, who kept going away from where the original was. Mizuki quickly Shunshinned and the clone dashed off to where he would appear._

_The clone was chilled by what he saw._

_The Mizuki he was chasing all along was actually an Earth Clone. The clone fell away and dissolved into the earth. The signal sputtered out as the seal was torn apart in the dirt._

_Two thoughts came to mind when the clone dispelled itself immediately after._

_Where was Mizuki? And the last, more chilling than the first –_

_Was this happening because he'd meddled in his timeline?_

XxX Flashback End XxX

Naruto gritted his teeth. Iruka would be here any minute! Where the _fuck _was Mizuki?

**Kid, that sword, its –**

'_Not now, Kyuubi!'_ Naruto thought.

Speak of the devil.

Iruka crashed through the bushes, panting, before glaring at the blond. "Narutoooo… you're in big trouble!" he growled.

Naruto tried to recall his words before telling Iruka what Mizuki told him to do.

"Mizuki told you to do this? But then –" Iruka was interrupted by a fuuma shuriken heading straight at Naruto.

"NARUTO! GET DOWN!" Iruka screamed about to charge in to save Naruto.

Instead, Naruto ignored him and rapidly pulled out a sealing scroll and charged chakra into the storage seal. The fuuma shuriken flew at the scroll and disappeared as Naruto sealed it with a grin.

"Gee, thanks, Mizuki-sensei! How'd you know I wanted a fuuma shuriken?"

Mizuki stood on a tree branch with a smirk on his face, "A teacher's intuition. Now, give me the Scroll, Naruto."

"No, Naruto! Mizuki is using you! He lied to you to get the scroll! Don't give it to him!" Iruka shouted.

"Don't listen to him, Naruto. Iruka is just lying to you; he wants the Scroll for himself," Mizuki coolly entered, eyes gleaming at the prospect of his next words. "Do you want to know why everyone in this village hates you?"

Naruto couldn't resist making a joke. "Is it because I have the biggest tool in the village?" Mizuki blinked and Iruka blinked, dumbfounded. "Because it is."

"You're only twelve; how can yours be bigger than anyone's in the village?" Mizuki asked, unable to help himself.

"I don't know how, but I'm pretty sure that I've got some Kumo blood in me and you _know_ what the ladies say about the ones they've got there," Naruto cheekily responded.

The two blanched in thought inadequacy.

**Bah, you're wrong; **_**I've**_** got the biggest one in the village.**

'_That's because you're over a hundred feet tall, Kyuubi,'_ Naruto thought back. '_You have an unfair advantage._'

**That's not what all the women I've fucked say.**

'_That's just…'_ Naruto shuddered, _'I don't know how that would happen and I don't want to know._'

Mizuki recovered from denial faster than Iruka could, "Everyone hates you because on the day you were born –"

"NO, MIZUKI! IT'S FORBIDDEN!"

" – the Yondaime sealed away the Kyuubi into a human baby. You are that baby, Naruto! YOU ARE THE NINE-TAILED FOX AND YOU KILLED IRUKA'S PARENTS!" Mizuki crowed.

Naruto merely blinked and shrugged, "So?"

Mizuki looked at him slightly shocked at Naruto's lack of response, "What?"

"So what? If I'm the fox, doesn't that mean I have a fuckton of power? Sweet!"

Mizuki merely blinked. "Besides, I don't remember killing Iruka's parents. So I don't think I did," Naruto continued nonchalantly.

Iruka's jaw was dropped before he remembered that Mizuki was a traitor and yelled, "Mizuki! As a traitor of Konoha, you are under arrest for attempted theft of the Scroll of Sealing and breaking the Hokage's decree!" Iruka threw a kunai at Mizuki, who merely blocked it with his other fuuma shuriken.

"I don't think I'll go down so easily, Iruka," Mizuki said with an evil grin. "I still have to kill the demon and get the scroll. Then, I'll take it to my master, Orochimaru, and he'll award me with power beyond measure!"

"You work for Orochimaru?" Naruto sharply asked, fully focused. If the pedosnake was involved, nothing good would happen. "All right, you're coming with us, Mizuki. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," Naruto shouted, creating six clones behind him.

Iruka looked on in slight awe. Naruto had learned a B-rank kinjutsu – perhaps from the scroll – and was able to use it!

Instead of cowering, Mizuki once more gave an evil grin. "Since I have no choice, I'll use the power Orochimaru-sama gave me to kill you!" Mizuki quickly drew the potion he'd made and swiftly chugged it down.

"Haah…" Mizuki breathed, being affected by the potion. "RAAAAH!" he shouted.

A seal began to form on his arm and his body began to grow. The burning red seal began to spread across his body and black tiger-like stripes emerged from the seal. His shirt tore as he grew larger and muscles bulged greatly from his form. Three stripes covered each of his arms and cheeks along with a jagged black crest forming on his forehead. Mizuki's pupils became slitted and his teeth formed into points as he drew his mouth in a grin.

"Iruka-sensei, get away," Naruto breathed. Why was this happening? This wasn't supposed to happen! Mizuki wasn't supposed to have one!

He really had altered events.

When Iruka merely stood, transfixed at Mizuki's change, Naruto growled, "Iruka-sensei, leave! Mizuki has a Cursed Seal – one of Orochimaru's juinjutsus!"

XxX

Hiruzen stared in shock. Mizuki worked for Orochimaru? There was another type of Cursed Seal? And _Naruto_ knew about them?

He needed to stop this.

"ANBU!" The Sandaime barked. "Go to sector G-87 of the forest surrounding Konoha! Stop Mizuki!"

There was no audible confirmation of their acceptance, merely Hiruzen feeling his ANBU guard leaving his presence.

XxX

"This power," Mizuki growled, "neither of you are a match for it! I feel as if I can take on the Sandaime and come out on top!" Mizuki bared his teeth once more and his pupils dilated slightly.

"Now, die!" he roared as he charged faster than Naruto could go as the Cursed-Seal-charged traitor slammed his fist into Naruto's stomach, sending the boy flying into a tree before dashing in front of iruka.

He clutched the teacher's neck, strangulating the brunet dolphin. "Now, just die, Iruka!" The teacher couldn't breathe much less respond in Mizuki's grip and flailing about, trying to get free.

"Let him go!" Naruto shouted. "Fuuton: Reppushou!" Naruto threw a kunai and blasted it faster with a burst of wind at the traitor. Not even bothering to see if it hit, Naruto formed a crossed handsign: "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Mizuki threw Iruka with great force into a tree and dodged the kunai before noticing he was surrounded by an army of Naruto clones. He gave a deep rumbling chuckle, "Come at me, demon!"

As Mizuki decimated the clones with many puffs of smoke, Naruto tried to think of a solution. '_Shit! How can I stop him? If I did a combination technique, it would probably burn the forest down! And I can't use Saiko Nagare; Iruka would probably get hurt and that's a last resort. I guess I'll have to try the Rasengan,'_ he thought.

**Not a chance, maggot. That feeble primate leader of yours will probably be watching and if you use it, you'll be interrogated by that scar-man from the Chunin Exams faster than you can say the jutsu's name.**

'_Then I have nothing left! I don't think I can get close enough to stab him or poison him and I doubt that I can hit him with the crossbow; he'll probably dodge or something._'

**You blond simian! You have just acquired a sword of mystical origins; fucking use it!**

'_Oh, right,'_ Naruto thought. '_I don't know how to use a sword, though!_'

**Just swing it and try to hit him for now – HIT THE DECK!**

Naruto threw himself forward to the floor as a massive fist went through where his head was just a moment ago.

Naruto quickly got up and formed a cross sign once more, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Twenty clones surrounded Naruto, swords drawn. They all yelled various war cries as they charged at Mizuki.

"TONIGHT, WE DINE IN HELL!"

"SUCK IIIIIIIIT!"

"FOR THE HORDE!"

"MY LIFE FOR NER'ZHUL!"

Naruto blinked at some of the odd cries, then narrowed his eyes and drew his own sword. He quickly removed and sealed away his weights. The blond would need all his speed to take down the juggernaut Mizuki was now.

Currently, Mizuki was toying with the clones and smacking away their sword strokes as well as popping them quite furiously. "Don't you know, Naruto? No matter how much you multiply by zero, you still get zero!" he bellowed as he dodged another sword strike. "And that's what you'll always be: a zero!"

SCHLIK!

"Looks like I just managed to slice you straight down your back," Naruto coldly replied, as he landed away from Mizuki who froze. "Who's the zero now?"

"Arrgh…" Mizuki growled, blood spurting like rain down his back. The sword had cut through his flak jacket like it was a hot knife through butter. Unknown to Naruto, the blade he wielded was like the Kusanagi; it could cut or pierce almost anything and was unbreakable, which was one of its powers as a Sword of Eden.

"I… WI**LL KILL YOU!**" Mizuki roared as he Curse Seal turned red once more and orange fur began to sprout from his body as his voice changed to a more animal-like tone. His whitish-blue hair grew longer and his wound closed up. His flak jacket came off of his body as his body grew larger and more muscular. Tiger stripes began to appear all over his body. His muscles coiled and he pounced at Naruto, roaring all the while.

Naruto poised his blade to pierce the body of Mizuki, but, to his shock, Mizuki merely batted away his blade with his large paw-like hand before slamming his fists rapidly into Naruto's stomach, causing dark spots to appear in his vision as he was thrown to the ground.

When he reopened his eyes Naruto saw the sword by his side and Mizuki was once more strangulating Iruka, only this time Iruka looked as if he was just on Death's Door.

Naruto's vision turned red as he picked up his sword.

"I…"

A voice began to speak in his head.

'_**Do not fear, child. Channel our**__**power into the blade and let us do what must be done,**__'_ it said.

Naruto's arm rose before it was pointed at Iruka.

Chakra-flowed-or-pulled-by-the-sword-into-its-being-transformed-something-more-ancient-godlike-soulful-strength-not-seen-in-years…

_**SHINRA TENSEI.**_

Naruto spoke it both with his mind and mouth, though it was uncertain whose intent it came from. Power flowed and Iruka was ripped from Mizuki's grasp as an unknown force pushed him and sent him through the cabin window. Mizuki turned to Naruto as the blond's arm was moved neither by his own will nor his power. His sword was pointed at Mizuki and his power went into the blade.

_**BANSHOU TEN'IN.**_

Mizuki was_ pulled_ and he snarled, as he was unable to resist the technique. Naruto's arms were moved into a position that would deadly to Mizuki, who responded with a frightful snarl as Naruto thrust his arms forward –

SHLUNK!

Mizuki coughed up blood as he was speared upon Naruto's blade. "You… I… de… mon," he choked out as Naruto removed his sword from his abdomen. The seal began to recede and form grew shriveled as he screamed as loud as he was able.

"Nooo… my… pow…er…" Mizuki groaned, as his changes appeared finished. Mizuki looked as if he had aged a hundred years while blood began spurt from his stomach.

Naruto breathed hard as he contemplated what had happened. He stumbled over to his sensei.

"Are… you okay, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto fearfully asked.

Iruka coughed and he responded in a raspy tone, "Yeah, I'm fine. Naruto, are you okay? I mean, you just found out about the…" he didn't continue, implying he knew about what happened.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I don't mind what happened, and I know I'm not the fox; I just contain the bloody furry," Naruto replied, wincing from the foxes loud and wrathful death threats.

"But I want to know… why, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto quietly asked.

Smiling slightly, Iruka began to explain his story and his reasons for his actions with Naruto, even after the ANBU arrived and escorted the pair while arresting Mizuki.

XxX

Naruto crawled into bed as he recalled what the Hokage told him. For his actions, Naruto had been awarded the Genin rank as well as an A-rank mission's pay at Naruto's behest (he had, after all, taken down a chunin with a Cursed Seal), though the Hokage told him that they would be having words soon.

The blond really didn't need the stress. Though…

Naruto reached over to the sword and grasped the hilt. '_Who are you?_' he thought to the blade.

'_**You need not touch the sword to get into contact with me; we are now bonded by souls. As for my identity**__,_' the voice spoke, now chuckling.

'_**I am who you would know as the Rikudo Sennin.**_'

Silence.

Naruto had expected literally _ANYTHING_ but this. '_… I'm not gonna ask you now how the _hell_ you are in my head; I don't think my sanity could handle it and I realize anything could be possible in this Game. But I will ask this: what happened in the forest?_'

'_**Patience, young one. I shall explain to you and Kurama what has happened very soon. And Kurama,**_' the Rikudo Sennin explained, voice getting stern, '_**end this childish silence. I would expect you would have a different response to my presence.**_'

When no response came, the Sennin sighed. '_**Very well. I shall retreat to your memories for the time being and examine them to understand the situation and this… Game. Until next time, young Uzumaki. May your fortunes be bright.**_'

The voice and presence of the one who claimed to be the Rikudo Sennin retreated into his mind.

Naruto sighed and covered his face with his hands.

'_What the fuck have I gotten myself into?_'

Before he could drowse off to sleep, Naruto's eyes caught something moving. Suddenly, large blue words appeared in his vision, making him gasp.

**CONGRATULATIONS! TUTORIAL: COMPLETED!**

**Greater Connection Established! 'Sage of Six Paths!' Permanent Bonuses: Unlocked! Achievement Unlocked: 'FUBAR!'**

**All Stats: +10!**

**Bonus: Chakra Sensing: +5!**

**Bonus: Stealth: +5!**

**Bonus: Youki Control: +10%!**

**Bonus: Kenjutsu: +5!**

**Bonus: Ninjutsu: +10!**

**Bonus: Taijutsu: +10!**

**Bonus: Genjutsu: +10!**

**Bonus: Fuuinjutsu: +10!**

**All Elemental Affinities: +5!**

**All Elemental Control: +5!**

"That really was the Rikudo Sennin?" Naruto breathed. "Dear Kamis above…"

**Boss Fight Completed! 'Mizuki + (Animal Curse Seal)!' Strength: +4! Endurance: +5! Experience Gained: 609! Achievement Unlocked: 'Butterfly Effect!'**

**Precious Person Gained! 'Iruka Umino!' Experience Gained: 50!**

**Joined Faction! 'Konohagakure no Sato: Shinobi!' Ranking: 'Genin!' Experience Gained: 100!**

"Oh yeah! Come to me, experience!"

**Level Up! Level 9! Stats Gained:**

**Strength: +6!**

**Perception: +4!**

**Endurance: +5!**

**Chakra: +5!**

**Charisma: +4!**

**Intelligence: +6!**

**Agility: +5!**

**Luck: +4!**

**Bonus: Chakra Sensing: +3!**

**Bonus: Stealth: +2!**

**Bonus: Speech: +2!**

The words combined into a fishcake that flew into Naruto's open and ready mouth. Naruto expanded slightly before relaxing and contracting to normality.

**Kid.** Kyuubi injected, finally talking to Naruto. **This… do you realize what happened?**

'_Explain to me, fox._'

**A saying among demons is that even the tiniest and weakest of butterflies can flap. If even one extra flap or one less happens, something as grand as a cataclysmic storm can occur. My point is, you have changed history a lot; there is a reason that it is forbidden to alter the past. Just imagine what else can happen if one of the minutest things was this improved treacherous teacher.**

Feeling bold, Naruto decided on something: if he were to live his life, he wouldn't live it in fear. After all, Shao Jun already taught him to overcome fear.

'_Tell you what, Kyuubi: don't take a peek into my world until I say so and you'll understand my opinion on this.'_

Agreeing, the Nine-Tailed Fox withdrew to his cage, quite curious about the blond's answer.

Meanwhile, Naruto quickly changed into his Assassin suit while cackling.

It was time to put it into place: his last work, his grand finale, his masterpiece.

One final, amazing prank.

XxX

The next morning, Iruka left his house, whistling. He had to get to the Academy no matter what injuries he'd sustained to say goodbye to his students. Iruka chuckled as he thought of Naruto. '_I bet he's psyched about leaving,_' he thought. When he looked up to the familiar sight of the Hokage Mountain, his jaw dropped.

The Shodaime was painted to have appear to be having, ironically, 'morning wood.' The Nidaime was next with bolts of lightning in the Nidaime's eyes while the words, 'I'm A Necrophiliac' were painted on his cheek, a reference to the Edo Tensei.

Finally, the Sandaime appeared to have monkey ears painted on his face while blood seemed to dribble down his nose and paint his cheeks. The Yondaime had a wild look painted in his eyes and the words, 'I Luv Flashing People' appeared on either cheek.

"NARUTOOOOOOO!"

XxX

"Hokage-sama! I'm afraid it wouldn't be wise to enter the tower. It appears someone has painted it along with other towers to resemble a gigantic… phallus."

Hiruzen facepalmed.

'_Damnit, Naruto…_'

XxX

The Hyuuga gate guards stood at their posts, quite confused. They were receiving rather dangerous looks from some of the ladies passing by.

What they didn't realize was that the nameplate saying, 'House of the Hyuuga' had had the word, 'Hyuuga' painted over and a new word to continue it.

The plate now read, 'House of the Perverts.'

Boy, that one kunoichi sure had an evil look about her…

XxX

The Inuzukas howled as they scrambled all about.

"Who the hell released the pheromones?" Tsume Inuzuka howled as she tossed a dog trying to hump her leg away.

XxX

What happened to the Naras was quite simple: their coffee had been replaced by a highly caffeinated version.

Needless to say, the lethargic family experienced a hyperactive crisis greater than The Day of the Misplaced Food Pills.

XxX

The Akimichi wailed, with tears pouring down their eyes, as their salt had been replaced by extra spicy paprika.

XxX

The Aburame had laughing gas blowing in through the vents of the Compound. Now, the world of Konoha was treated to a chilling sight: a hysteric Aburame.

XxX

The Uchiha Compound remained untouched by Naruto, as he didn't want to deface his home. Still, he stood upon the defaced mountain and shot a mental grin to Kyuubi.

'_Do you see that? _That _is what I think of your butterfly: fuck it. I will stop whatever comes at me because I do what is necessary to protect my friends._'

Kyuubi grumbled, though when he replied, his voice contained a small amount of respect.

… **stupid brat.**

"NARUTOOOOO!"

"Whoops, time to run!" Naruto shouted.

XxX

Beings greater, beings MUCH more powerful than humans stood dimensions away from the sight, viewing it with contempt.

"If you wish to deface the power of change," one of the three beings coldly emanated, "then so be it," they said as they reached over to a button on a panel.

"Feel the consequences of meddling and the wrath of the Effect."

XxX

Kimaru Sayama collapsed in shock.

Yugakure no Sato… was in ashes.

He'd been made a genin of Amegakure one year ago as he had passed the Academic Institute's exam early.

Kimaru had taken several missions before and, yet, this simple C-rank had turned into a horrendous catastrophe.

Hanzo-sama ordered his genin team and jonin instructor to escort a diplomat to Yugakure no Sato who would try to secure additional funds and ninja to support his war against the Ame rebels.

That went out the window when the silver-haired man came.

He and his tri-bladed scythe carved a swathe of destruction, laughing maniacally all the while as he soaked the earth with puddles, rivers, lakes of blood.

Kimaru had lost his father only three years ago to the Gray Fox. Now, he was the last one left. His team, dead. The people of Yugakure, dead.

His vengeance, dead and unfulfilled.

As the silver-haired butcher came upon him, he, scythe in hand, stayed his blade.

"Why haven't you killed me yet?" Kimaru wondered allowed.

"Because for you, there is… potential," the butcher said, licking his lips. "My lord likes you, so I'll spare your fucking pathetic self the honor of being killed in his name and, instead, guide you to the path of his power."

The silver-haired man tossed the boy a black book. "Try not to die before spreading his name."

Then, the man disappeared. Kimaru's curiosity began to outweigh his shock as he picked up the book and looked at the cover.

Upon it was a blood-red triangle with a circle around it.

XxX End Chapter XxX

**Well, I hope you enjoyed this extra long chapter of Fishcake Chronicles because I worked my ass off on it. I hope I didn't overdo things or make things terrible.**

**With the whole Butterfly Effect thing, I wanted Naruto to be aware of how his actions could effect what should have occurred in his next life: nothing is the same.**

**If you believe that Naruto has the Rinnegan now because of the powers of the Deva Path or the fact that the Rikudo Sennin is in his head, then you are WRONG. I'll explain what happened in the next chapter.**

**Naruto's Stats (Chapter 8):**

**Level 8**

**Stats:**

**Strength: 57 (7) = 97**

**Perception: 58 (3) = 75**

**Endurance: 54 (7) = 92**

**Charisma: 42 (7) = 71**

**Chakra: 45 (5) = 68**

**Intelligence: 100 (3) = 130**

**Agility: 56 (3) = 73**

**Luck: 49 (6) = 78**

**Chakra Sensing: +35 (Base Stat: 18)**

**Speech: +40 (Base Stat: 25)**

**Stealth: +65 (Base Stat: 30)**

**Youki Control: +25% (Base Control: 0%)**

**Ninjutsu Skill: +25 (Base Skill: 15)**

**Taijutsu Skill: +15 (Base Skill: 5)**

**Genjutsu Skill: +10 (Base Skill: 0)**

**Kenjutsu Skill: +10 (Base Skill: 0)**

**Fuuinjutsu Skill: +25 (Base Skill: 15)**

**Wind Affinity: +20 (Base Skill: 15)**

**Wind Control: +5 (Base Control: 0)**

**Fire Affinity: +10 (Base Skill: 5)**

**Fire Control: +5 (Base Control: 0)**

**Earth Affinity: +5 (Base Skill: 0)**

**Earth Control: +5 (Base Control: 0)**

**Water Affinity: +8 (Base Skill: 3)**

**Water Control: +5 (Base Control: 0)**

**Lightning Affinity: +5 (Base Skill: 0)**

**Lightning Control: +5 (Base Control: 0)**

**Yang Affinity: +5 (Base Skill: 0)**

**Yang Control: +5 (Base Control: 0)**

**Yin Affinity: +5 (Base Skill: 0)**

**Yin Control: +5 (Base Control: 0)**

**Yin-Yang Affinity: +10 (Base Skill: 5)**

**Yin-Yang Control: +7 (Base Control: 2)**

**Current Karma: First-Class Friend**

**Please read and review. Whether you have flames, criticism, or compliments, tell me them and I'll be happy.**

**King, signing out.**


	9. Teams And Altered Dreams

**Naruto: Fishcake Chronicles: Chapter 9**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any videogame for that matter. And I don't own Majin's or Chibi's stories. I'm simply making my own. Oh yeah, the original characters, THEY'RE MINE FUCKERS!**

**Welcome back! I'm your host HKN and I'm bringing YOU, my readers, another chapter of Fishcake Chronicles.**

**I will answer a few questions now.**

**Remzal Von Enili (2****nd**** Comment): You are extremely close to the truth of what happened, though it was the very same attack. I'll explain what happened later in the story. Also, to your first comment, while that SORT OF makes sense, there is a technological limit and Doto's was at the pinnacle of Chakra Armour. So I wouldn't expect Gundams for a while if at all.**

**Some Dude: The thing is, part of being an S-class like Sarutobi or Pain or Madara is that you know that nearly nobody is strong enough to even begin to be something more than a fly on a cow's back, i.e. most people are much weaker than you. That's why he just went along with it (he even knew he was joking around). I did want that, yes, Sarutobi would question his logic. This is sort of a win-win for both; Naruto wanted Sarutobi to train while Sarutobi wanted to gauge Naruto, as he already had a measurement of his wit and intelligence (not the best, but excellent in some aspects). The point is, there are reasons on **_**both**_** sides that my characters do what they do. And Naruto does have risks; like with Itachi, he risks playing his hand and causing people to get too suspicious of his knowledge or ability. Why do you think he hides it that he is an Assassin? Because it could irreparably damage the timeline. But as the story progresses, that will be shot out of the water.**

**Sorry to dante5986… I did end up taking **_**way**_** too long to update. I've been very occupied by academics and family and so many other things; I've had no time for writing.**

**Thanks to all the people who complimented my work.**

**Now, onto the next chapter!**

**XxX Chapter 9: Teams and Altered Dreams/To Be A Genin: Part 2 XxX**

"Whaddya mean I have to clean it ALL up?" Naruto whined. He stood before a rather stern looking Hokage with his blonde head bowed and Iruka standing beside him with a furious look on his face.

"Let us write up the list, Naruto," Hiruzen rumbled, voice bordering on a growl. He took a sheet of paper before mockingly writing on it. "You have painted my tower along with the other towers of the village to look like gigantic –"

" – penises," Naruto interjected with a snicker before getting a blindingly fast smack to the head from Hiruzen, eliciting a scowl from the boy as he rubbed his head, while the Hokage continued unpertubed.

" – male reproductive organs, released strong pheromones on the Inuzuka and caused all the dogs to go into heat, scarred the world for ever with what you did to the Aburames," the Sandaime said, all three of the males shivering slightly, "pulled a with the Hyuuga that caused the front gate guards to be administered to the hospital from what the doctor says was broken bones, testicles kicked, and a post-traumatic fear of women," he said, pausing for effect.

"And let's not forget how you made the Nara hyperactive or how you, I don't know, defaced the Hokage Mountain!" Hiruzen stated angrily, ending with a bit of a yell and a bit of killing intent.

Shuddering at the Sandaime's anger, Iruka stepped forward and spoke, "Hokage-sama, I shall make sure he finishes cleaning everything up –"

" – oh, come on!" Naruto exclaimed. "The effects are temporary, jiji! The paint I used comes off with water, the pheromones, caffeine, and laughing gas all last a day, and I just changed the Hyuuga's sign! Plus, all I did was just replace all the Akimichi's Akimichis salt with paprika. Just wait for a day and the rain, tell the Akimichi, and get someone to fix the Hyuuga's sign!" He then snorted and muttered, "'Sides, those guys have eyes that see through clothes; hell yeah they're the House of Perverts! 'Cept Hinata, of course."

The Sandaime ignored the last part while an uncharacteristically evil grin grew on his face. "Really? Well, in that case, I guess it's time to teach you a lesson. Clean up ALL the paint and fix the sign before the teams are called or else I'll have to send you back to the Academy!" Ignoring Naruto's gaping face, he continued, "And if you DO manage to finish in time, then your team, whomever it may be, will have to do four extra-special missions with normal pay: walk ALL of the canines of the Inuzuka, clean up ALL the hives of the Aburame, go shopping for food for the ENTIRETY of the Akimichi clan, and tend to ALL of the Nara clan's grazing deer for a day."

Naruto slumped to the ground, head bowed. "… You really are an evil old man jiji," Naruto muttered in shock, awe, and terror, all mixed into a jumble of emotions that were stemming from the man before him.

"You don't have all day, Naruto. In fact, I'd say you have about two hours to finish or else," Sarutobi reminded him. The blonde dashed out the door as if he used Hiraishin. Sarutobi watched him run out side, a lot more blonds appearing as he saw Naruto use the Kage Bunshin Jutsu.

Iruka still stood there in front of Hiruzen, gaping like a fish. He stood there for one moment before throwing himself to the floor, prostrating himself before Hiruzen as he cried out, "Teach me, Hokage-sama!"

Hiruzen chuckled as he got back to his desk. "You'll learn this stuff before you get to my age, Iruka-kun. Now, go inform the Akimichi of Naruto's replacement. I'm sure they'll be glad to know what to fix."

Iruka nodded before Shunshinning out of the tower.

XxX

Naruto grumbled as he leapt onto the scaffolding after walking up the Hokage Mountain. He should've _known_ jiji would've made him clean his prank up. After all, that's what happened last time!

The blond prankster did a quick set of handsigns, concentrating as he kept his voice low, "Suiton: Mizurappa." Instead of from a lake, water began to gather and swirl in the air. Naruto kept a focused face as he continued to gather more and more water particles together. Then, when the torrent grew large enough, it blasted at the Shodaime's face with enough water to wash its entirety.

Naruto smirked slightly. It would have taken him a minute and a half to gather this much water before, and now, in a matter of twenty-two seconds, Naruto had surpassed the feat. The Nidaime truly was a genius when he did this. Still, the blond had a long way to go to be as good as said Nidaime. After all, he'd heard tales that the Nidaime could gather enough water for three water dragons in the span of a second. One second for so much water! And it took a ton of chakra to even gather that much, so he had a lot to live up to.

That would probably take a _lot_ of chakra control training and water recomposition training.

Still, the job was not yet done and Naruto continued to the next head.

A minute and a half later, a slightly panting Naruto had managed to finally wash off his father's carved effigy. He jumped off the scaffolding and stuck onto a nearby building as he looked to the mountain faces. Naruto grinned.

"Just you wait," he swore, "I'm getting stronger and stronger everyday. I'll surpass you all, dattebayo!"

Suddenly, he realized something. He was on a tower, meaning he was stuck on a gigantic…

"Shit," he cursed. "Now I've gotta wash a bunch of dicks. Fantastic."

XxX The Two Hours Later … XxX

"Good morning, class!" Iruka beamed. Though the students smiled, they didn't return the greeting, as they were too busy giggling when Iruka sat down.

CRASH!

The chair collapsed as Iruka fell over, spilling the hot coffee he was carrying all over himself.

"NARUTOOO!" he roared in anger. He quickly brought out a towel he kept in his desk and began to wipe as all the students began to break out into clamorous laughter. The blond was laughing most of all, while struggling to stay awake. It appeared he had worn himself out with so many water jutsus. Still, practice made perfect.

Iruka took a deep breath as a vein pulsed on his forehead in anger. "I am going to let that go since today is the last day and teams are getting assigned." Suddenly, he began to cackle. "I'll finally be free of you monsters!" he whooped.

When he finished a second later, Iruka cleared his throat, regaining his composition. "Yes, well, time for team assignments. Team 1: …" Naruto tuned out Iruka as he closed his eyes momentarily.

He really needed a nap.

Suddenly, his head bolted up. All the kids were gone, except for Sakura and Sasuke. "The hell? What happened?" he yawned. Sakura sighed in exasperation at his sleepiness.

"Naruto, you should have been paying attention," she chided. "We are Team 7, with some jonin named Kakashi. And in case you're wondering, our friends are on Teams 8 and 10. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino are on Team 8, while –"

"Ino, Chouji, and Shika are on Team 10," Naruto dully finished. Sakura blinked.

"How did you know that? I thought you were asleep?" She asked curiously.

Naruto resisted the now very fleeting urge to flirt with Sakura. It wouldn't help the team if she got pissed at him. Plus, hopefully, with him not hitting on her she _might _accept a date from him if he actually asked her.

Now, that he thought about it, did he even like Sakura anymore? After not chasing her for years, like he promised himself, the attraction just seemed… not there.

"Naruto?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts, as she slightly irritably crossed her arms.

"Sorry, I zoned out. And it seems obvious that they would bring back the Ino-Shika-Cho," he replied sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "About Kakashi, he's pretty tough. Plus, he's late as all hell to any event or meeting. So, I'd count on waiting… how long ago did Iruka announce teams?"

"Ten minutes ago," Sasuke impassively informed him. Naruto grimaced at the information.

"Yeah, we'll be here for another couple hours or so." An angry vein pulsed on Sakura's forehead but she didn't explode. Instead, she furiously pulled a book out from her utility pouch and began to read it.

Curious, Naruto looked to the cover. It was a small, yet thick, book about –

'_Trapping! That's right, I've gotta plan a prank on Kakashi!_' Naruto thought. A Cheshire grin grew on his face as he pulled out a scroll labeled, 'Pranks.'

Naruto ignored Sasuke, who asked, "How many scrolls do you _have_?" as he began to formulate traps for his tardy sensei.

Kakashi's lateness had just forced Naruto to open Pandora's box.

XxX Two Hours Later… XxX

"My first impression of you kids… is fuck you," Kakashi said, nearly growling. He was suspended by ropes and spread eagle in front of the doorway as if he were about to be lynched. Multiple colors of paint covered his crotch, face, and hair, all of which were predominantly pink, green, and orange, respectively, as a result of the balloons full of paint shot his way after being tied up.

Barely restrained killing intent leaked from Kakashi, as Naruto closed his book on sealing and stored it in another sealing scroll.

"So, this is a jonin?" Sasuke commented disinterestedly. "I didn't think one would fall your pranks, Naruto."

"Wouldn't have worked if he hadn't underestimated me or if he didn't keep his guard," Naruto replied, mocking Kakashi. "You must learn to look underneath the underneath, young grasshopper."

"Just get to the roof, dammit," Kakashi swore, struggling with an angry look in his one eye. Sakura went, 'eep' before dashing underneath his spread legs and running up the stairs.

Sasuke grinned at Kakashi's helplessness as he looked to Naruto, who still had an evil smirk on his face. "You're _still_ not done with him?"

"What can I say; after being forced to clean up nearly the entire village and getting barely any sleep _and_ waiting for our sensei, I can safely justify my sadistic side," Naruto cackled.

Sasuke smirked as he went the same way as Sakura. Kakashi kept his eye on Naruto, angry eye belying a slight trace of worry.

"Kakashi Hatake," Naruto intoned ominously, "You have been captured by an enemy ninja. Time –"

At that he dashed at Kakashi's and, in a quick flourish, stole all his pouches with weapons.

" – For TORTURE!" he cackled once more and ran like hell for the roof. Kakashi's eye widened to great proportions at what happened.

'_H-he took my… Icha-Icha…_' Kakashi thought desperately. He slumped over for a moment before a fire grew in his eye. His struggling renewed as the ropes struggled to chain him to his position.

"ICHA-ICHA!" Kakashi roared. Muscles bulged as he called upon all his strength to break free. The ropes began to pull to the point where they were about to snap.

"!" He shouted as he channeled a massive surge of lightning chakra through his body and destroyed the ropes. A bright pulse of lightning chakra exploded from his body as he fell to the floor, bonds burnt up.

"ICHAAA!" He shouted running like hell to reach Naruto, a manic glint in his eye.

A lesson would have to be taught: never mess with pervs' porn.

XxX

Naruto huffed as he just barely managed to jump through the door to the roof of the Academy, tossed the pouch containing his sensei's pervy books straight up, and slammed the door in Kakashi's masked face, all within a span of mere moments.

The door was nearly slammed off its hinges as a furious Kakashi came barreling through immediately after the blond.

"Where is the precious?" he roared. Before Naruto could muster the courage to step out from behind Sasuke's form and tell him, the pouch fell straight on Kakashi's head. The pouch was painted orange, but the book remained pristine as it fell straight into Kakashi's hands.

Immediately, Kakashi's anger faded and his original bored demeanor returned, although a cold, analytical cautiousness filled the void in his eyes which laziness originally had occupied.

"So," he said, killing intent surging towards Naruto who gasped at its power, paralyzed to the spot. "Did you learn something about pissing off your superiors, Naruto?"

A bead of sweat began to form at the back of his neck. '_Damn… he really wants to kill me,_' Naruto thought. '_I won't fall!_'

Naruto's head rose, expression not revealing any of the terror he felt inside. "I –"

Her sensei's control of his power so impeccable, she couldn't feel the terror, Sakura turned her head half quizzically, half angrily, as she interrupted, "Naruto, apologize to sensei!" she shouted.

Meanwhile, Sasuke's eyes narrowed upon viewing Naruto's state. He turned to Kakashi and released his own, young, untrained killing intent; something Naruto had never seen him do.

At Sasuke's retaliation, Kakashi's pupil moved slightly toward him before Sasuke gasped. Sweat began to form at the back of his neck as the crushing killing intent initiated affecting him. Sasuke's legs began to shake and, just for kicks, Kakashi turned his power unto Sakura.

Seeing Sakura's reaction was the worst. Naruto felt his insides churn as she collapsed to the floor of the roof, gasping and retching slightly, tears coming to her eyes as she and the trio saw images of their death in their minds' eyes.

It would be too easy.

'_Kyuubi, help!_' Naruto mentally shouted.

**Pathetic.**

A flare of red entered Naruto's system and Naruto's eyes flashed red for a brief second as the fox's intent washed over a now frozen Kakashi, nullifying his intent's power.

Instinctively, a kunai came to Kakashi's hand as he quickly disappeared and reappeared behind Naruto, kunai to his jugular, in a feat of sheer speed.

"Calm down," Kakashi sternly said, his eye more cold and analytical of Naruto than before. He pushed his captive blond away from him. "I hope you've all learned two things: one, don't piss off those who are stronger, and two, never freeze up. Otherwise, death awaits you. And Naruto, we're going to have a word later."

The cycloptic sensei motioned for the three to sit down, the trio now able to breathe easily. "Aside from this little mishap, I'm gonna start things off a bit differently from how I normally do," Kakashi began.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake. And since you just _might_," he said, with emphasis on the might, "be my team, I'll share some details. I was a former ANBU Captain. My sensei was the Kiiroi Senkou. I specialize in ninjutsu, particularly lightning jutsu, and taijutsu. I like my comrades, my," he continued, pausing in reminiscence, "former team, my summons, and my books." Here, Kakashi gave a quick glare to Naruto, who responded by grinning sheepishly. At the same time, Naruto's team stared in awe at Kakashi, who continued, ignoring their looks.

"I dislike people who would abandon their teammates, traitors, and those who mess with my books. My dream is to continue to protect this village and my comrades till my last breath," Kakashi finished. He turned to Sakura, "Alright Pinky, it's your turn. Same format."

Sakura nervously turned to her teammates before speaking, "My name is Sakura Haruno. I come from a civilian family and am the first from it to become a ninja. I… don't know any other jutsu besides the Academy Three, but I'm learning about trapping. I like," she nervously jerked her head towards Sasuke before continuing. "I dislike bullies, and my dream… I'm… I'm not sure anymore," she quietly finished.

Naruto shot a stunned glance at Sakura. '_She used to be gushingly lovey-dovey over Sasuke! The hell changed now? Is it because of Kakashi?_'

**Maybe because you pissed off the gray-haired body plunderer, she's now a quieter bitch. **Kyuubi suggested.

'_Maybe… and don't call her a bitch!_' Naruto thought back.

"I actually expected something else," Kakashi said as he crossed his arms. "Still, you I would not recommend that you continuously pursue your teammate; that could lead to many bad things, such dissent in the team, impairment of judgment, and other things."

Sakura shrunk into herself like Hinata would, unable to make look Kakashi in the eye. With a sigh, Kakashi crouched before her.

"Don't give up your dreams just because I got a little angry," he spoke. "If you have dreams, chase after them. Just remember to not cause _too _much destruction on the way."

"I can't help but feel that that was a shot at me," Naruto grumbled, easing the tension. Kakashi chuckled.

"I'm just _dying _to hear about you, brat," Kakashi pseudo-sarcastically teased. Sakura giggled as Naruto's grumbling continued.

"So, I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" the aforementioned blond exclaimed, his tone taking an immediate one-eighty. "I'm kinda learning about a bunch of stuff right now, like elemental affinities, kenjutsu, fuuinjutsu, and other stuff," Naruto chattered, words sending Kakashi's eyebrows up to his headband-covered hairline, "but what I'm really good at is taijutsu, ninjutsu, and assassination and stealth."

"A genin being excellent at assassination? That's… rather odd; it isn't even taught in the academy. Care to explain how good you are and how you became that way?" Kakashi inquired, with Sasuke and Sakura looking on in amazement.

"Well, that paint I splattered you with? That could have been acid, poison, or something else. And it's not so much that I'm good at assassination so much that I'm sneaky enough to be great at it."

"Just because you're good at trapping doesn't mean you're an assassin," Kakashi corrected. "So prove that you're stealthy."

Naruto gave an evil grin as held up his sensei's, Sakura's, and Sasuke's wallets, all of whom who immediately snatched them back. "I think I've proven my worth in spades," he puffed.

"Yeah, definitely having that talk later," his sensei muttered as Naruto continued.

"I like ramen, my friends, Hokage-jiji, pranking –"

" – which you'll have to stop," Kakashi interjected, remembering the havoc in the morning.

" – and learning kickass jutsu. I dislike traitors and the three minutes of waiting for ramen to boil. And my dream –" he said, head turning to the great mountain of the village.

" – is to be Hokage!"

Kakashi stood mute, eye glassed over as he examined the blond whose visage so greatly resembled his dead sensei's. '_He's got that fire, Minato-sensei,_' he thought. '_You'd be proud._'

Finishing his line of thought, Kakashi coughed before saying, "Alright, now it's Duck-Butt's turn."

Giving his new sensei and a chuckling Naruto a glare, Sasuke spoke, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I am proficient at fire jutsu, taijutsu, and wire techniques. I enjoy music, tomatoes, training, pranking, and I _guess_," he said, stressing his last word, "hanging out with Naruto." Naruto gave him a large grin, happy that he at least made friends with his once-wayward friend in this life.

"I detest, however, women who are overly obsessed with me and try incessantly to gain my affections," Sasuke informed, giving Sakura a pointed glance.

She huffed slightly, "Alright, I get the point, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, then grinned, "But don't think I'll entirely give up."

Sasuke sighed. "I suppose this is the best I'll get out of her. Anyway, I also detest tardiness, traitors, and other things I won't get into." At that point, Sasuke's eyes took on a slightly contemplative look, "My dream – no, my ambition – is to catch my brother and learn why he murdered my clan."

Sakura flinched in memory of what she'd heard of the incident. Nearly the entire Uchiha Clan was murdered. Yet, Sasuke survived because, from what she'd heard, he was hidden from Itachi.

Naruto rubbed his chest as he remembered the phantom pain from Itachi stabbing him in his genjutsu. That had felt terrible.

"Right, well, you're all not exactly what I'd expected. But anyway, you're all not genin yet," Kakashi spoke. Sasuke's and Sakura's heads shot up to look at Kakashi in disbelief. Naruto merely chuckled.

"Another test; why am I not surprised?"

"Yes, there is another test. But here comes the surprise: only one-third of the people qualified to be genin would actually be genin."

Sasuke began to protest before Naruto gave him a look that spoke, 'Follow my lead.'

The smart-alec blond yawned as he replied, "Yeah, well, tell the other two-thirds sorry from me because we're not gonna fail this test. Right, Sasuke, Sakura?"

The two didn't say anything; they merely nodded uncertainly. Kakashi gave them an eye smile. "I'm glad you're all so confident. Now, you have to get to Training Ground 13 in the morning at five A.M," he said, ignoring his students' gaping looks, "and make sure you don't eat any breakfast; you don't want to end up puking it up, now do you?"

Sakura looked like she wanted to puke, while Naruto and Sasuke kept their cool and calm façades. "Right, got it," Naruto replied.

"Alright, then, you're dismissed. And Naruto, stay back please?" Kakashi asked amiably, tone not belying what he would do if the blond didn't comply. Fortunately for Naruto, the blond listened and stayed.

"I'll see you at home, Sasuke. I've got something to discuss with you later," Naruto said, shooting a glance at Sasuke. "And Sakura, get a haircut. It's rather impractical despite how nice your hair looks."

Sakura huffed as a slight blush formed on her pale cheeks. "Baka!" she muttered as she walked down the stairs to the entrance, Sasuke following.

When Sasuke closed the door, Naruto asked, "So what's this abou –"

Kakashi slammed Naruto's throat to the wall of the roof's entrance, cutting him off.

"Just who are you?" Kakashi hissed. "I doubt Naruto knew about the Kyuubi, much less use its power. So who are you? Are you Kyuubi itself?" Kakashi formed a bolt of lightning in his left fist threateningly as Naruto gagged.

"Ka – kashi… sen – sei, I'm no – " Naruto choked out. "Not Kyuu – "

Kakashi let him go as Naruto tried to regain his breath. "Then how did you call its power? Naruto, how do you even know about the Kyuubi?" he asked icily.

"Well," Naruto rasped, coughing before continuing, "I can see that even though you're one of jiji's favorites, former ANBU Captain Inu," he said, drawing a raised eyebrow from his teacher, "he doesn't keep you on the down-low."

"Explain how you know about my codename and about what you are talking about," the silver-haired scarecrow demanded, still waving his kunai.

Naruto blinked. "That was actually your codename? Holy shit, I was taking a freaking kunai throw in the dark with that! I just said that 'cause you _seem _like an Inu." Kakashi raised his eyebrow further, knowing there was more. "Fine – I also thought that because I've heard you've got the Dog Summoning Contract."

"Damn Bingo Books," Kakashi muttered as Naruto continued.

"As for how I know about my _condition_," Naruto said, beginning to lie as he emphasized 'condition', "I did some research on the Bijuu since the Kyuubi attacked on my birthday. I've read about of only a few ways to stop them – seal them into objects, banish or kill the lesser ones, but something as powerful as the fox could only be beaten by sealing it away in a human." Naruto smiled sadly. "After putting two and two together with how I've been treated, it was simply confronting jiji that confirmed it for me."

The famed Copy-Nin couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic. "I'm sorry for your pain, Naruto. But," Kakashi spoke warningly, great stress on the 'but', "That still doesn't explain how you utilized the fox's power to overcome my own."

The blond jinchuuriki's eyes widened a margin, thinking desperately to imagine an excuse. '_C'mon fox, do something for once!'_

**Very well… **Kyuubi grumbled, **Tell him that since my dominance depends on your sanctity, I see fit **_**sometimes**_** to extend my power to you. Think of this as the gift of an alibi; once given, your bound to stick to this story and come up with half-baked explanations. **

'_Fine, thanks,_' Naruto thought quickly. "Uh, since the fox is afraid me dying, since it causes his death, he helps me by keeping me alive sometimes," he blabbered to Kakashi.

Said jonin closed his eye. "That does make a modicum of sense… very well, fine. But be wary – don't make deals with it, or else its power may emerge from you and wreak havoc on our home again. We don't need the seal breaking again," Kakashi said, muttering the last part so it was incomprehensible to his new student.

"Go home and be prepared for tomorrow's test, Naruto. You'll need to be."

Kakashi Shunshinned away after his last words.

Naruto shrugged and jumped off the rooftops towards the Uchiha Compound.

"Time to have that talk with Sasuke."

XxX

Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe as he evaluated the last jonin before him. "And so you say she's different from what you thought of her based on her records?"

The red-eyed beauty, Kurenai, gave a shrug. "I expected her to be rather shy and rather hesitant in her speech like it said. Yet, the Hinata I met today seems about as resolute as stone. While she continues to employ a slight stutter, Hinata seems eager to get stronger and become an excellent ninja. I'd say you've given me a gem of a student, Hokage-sama; she even asked me today how she would go about accomplishing nature manipulation."

The aged man's eyebrows rose. "Such an advanced skill?"

"I asked her why, but she merely said, 'So I can protect those I care for.'"

Sarutobi half-smiled, half-frowned. While it was comforting to know that the Will of Fire still lived on in the younger generation, becoming a ninja as powerful as he was did not help with his ingrained paranoia, paranoia now involved in this situation. "I see. Did you tell her anything about it?"

Kurenai hesitated before replying, "At the time, I deemed it a course of action that she should pursue and went with her to check out a book on nature manipulation. I also aided her in ascertaining her element, which is water."

"You did no wrong," Sarutobi explained as he took another puff of his pipe, "None of the news I've received as of late from my student has helped my old nerves. I suppose as of late, like my old comrade councilman Danzo, paranoia has become my foremost response to anything odd."

"Should she pass, would it be acceptable if I continued to help her develop her skill in nature manipulation?" the raven-haired beauty inquired.

"If Hinata doesn't pass, then it'll be on her own time. Otherwise, you may help her how you deem necessary as her sensei."

She knelt, unable to keep the tiniest of smiles on her routinely professional face. "By your leave, Hokage-sama." Kurenai stood and walked out the office.

As Sarutobi kept his eyes on the door, a voice called out from the window, "I don't suppose it would be outside of my rights to say, 'Hate to see them go, love to watch them leave,' Hokage-sama?"

The Sandaime gave the tiniest of chortles as he continued to puff his pipe. "Only you, Kakashi-kun. How is your team?"

"Like her, that is why I've come to you, Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied as he stood at attention in front of Hiruzen, all business.

"Do tell," the wizened leader replied with interest. "And please tell me, why is it that you have paint splashed across your groin?"

"I suppose the answer to both those questions would be Naruto Uzumaki, Hokage-sama."

"Why am I not surprised?" muttered Hiruzen as he placed his face in his palm.

"However, I did wish to speak with you about his 'status,' Hokage-sama; off the record, if you don't mind."

"What of it?" Hiruzen wearily said, immediately cautious.

"This morning, I had planned on giving them a serious introduction; according to their profiles, they weren't half bad. Of course, that changed when Naruto stole the precious to torture me as I was, well, indisposed," Kakashi reported, face serious all the while. Meanwhile, Hiruzen was now chuckling.

"I'm not surprised," the Sandaime let out, "Even as an infant, Naruto showed disapproval for those books."

"As things were sorted out, I lost control and, in a fit of anger, tested their mental capacity."

"Meaning?" Hiruzen warily prompted.

Kakashi flinched before replying, "I imposed my authority through a show of killing intent."

He dared to look to Hiruzen's eyes in apology and all he saw was disapproving eyes, mixed up in a cocktail of anger and other emotions. A crushing, all consuming weight fell upon Kakashi, a killing intent much greater than what he could produce in his angriest of times; far more than he could muster for the man who killed Obito.

"So you believe," Hiruzen whispered, "that power goes to whomever can demonstrate the will to take life greater than others can?"

Kakashi's eye widened greatly while he fell to a knee, as the force of the Sandaime's iron will began to crush his mind and spirit. Images of his death in the most gruesome of ways began to permeate his mind as his body automatically began to move his hand to his weapons pouch.

"By all rights, that would make me or any other sane shinobi sound cutthroat; rulers over the civilians and others who cannot stand our murderousness," Hiruzen continued.

Kakashi began to gasp as his throat began to close up, unable to breathe as he fumbled for a kunai to end it all.

"I'm not like that, am I, Kakashi?" Hiruzen sternly said, eyes burning with an icy flame, all the while never once letting up on the pressure.

_Horrendously-screaming-immolation-body-exploding-limbs-being-rent-apart-darkness-consuming-Kyuubi-eating-Obito- –_

"N-no!" Kakashi croaked as he lifted the kunai to his own throat.

Suddenly, the pressure disappeared. Kakashi gasped as he drew a breath of air. He nearly missed the Sandaime's next words as loudly inhaled a fresh breath.

"I truly hope this isn't your course of action from now on, Kakashi," Hiruzen sternly said, "Once is bad enough; you may have traumatized your students terribly."

"Apologies, Hokage-sama, for my lack of control," Kakashi quietly said as he bowed his head in shame. "I believe I may have traumatized the girl, Sakura Haruno, with my actions. I'd expected that she would be about as fiery as sensei's girlfriend, but that disappeared as soon as my control slipped."

"It is to be expected; having never been raised in a house of combat like the clans, she can't have been the best at dealing with this. But to other matters; it is time to discuss the penalties of this incident," Hiruzen said as he put his hands together in front of him (**A/N: Think of Gendo Ikari**).

"As you may know, some of the greatest potential seen in years are in this term's batch of graduates; all of which are spread across your team, Team 8, and Team 10. There is also Team Gai to consider, but we are discussing this year. Regardless, I placed your team together for a reason."

"I can expect that you put Sasuke on my team because at some point, he'll may activate his Sharingan, which I'll teach him to control. Plus, part of my job is to keep an eye on sensei's legacy. Though, I don't think this is all since I am not _entirely _certain of why you gave me Sakura," the Copy Nin recited.

The Sandaime sighed as his face wrinkled. For the first time in a while, the Sandaime actually seemed his age. He got out of his chair as he looked out the window to village. "I am an old man, Kakashi-kun. As you know, I am regaining what I can of my skill; yet, this may not fare in the coming months." He turned to his successor's student.

"There is a storm coming. And I don't think that my remaining students and I shall be enough for Konoha to bear against it. That is why I have played the guiding hand in this selection of teams. I believe that under your tutelage, Sasuke may just choose to move on instead of pursuing Itachi. I believe that you can make Sakura an excellent kunoichi that shall do Konoha proud. And I know, with no doubts in mind that under your tutelage, Naruto will be Hokage," Hiruzen said, a mix of emotions in his voice.

"How does this relate to my punishment, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked.

"As you may know, Naruto lives with Sasuke and may be familiar enough to work with him; a fine way for him to demonstrate teamwork. But whether or not the two get Sakura to work with them, they are too valuable of assets to return to the Academy; therefore, you shall pass them regardless of the outcome of your test." Before Kakashi could say a word, Hiruzen continued, "And for the next twenty D-rank missions, you shall not be receiving pay; instead, your share, which is technically the lion's share, shall be divided among your students. Finally," Hiruzen said, ending with an ominous puff of smoke, "I shall be reviewing your progress as a sensei. I would rather you don't put any toes out of line, Kakashi-kun."

"…Yes, Hokage-sama. Though, I never did get to tell you about Naruto's 'condition,'" Kakashi muttered.

"I apologize then for digressing to this topic. What has Naruto done involving the Nine-Tailed Fox?"

"As I tested the team in my anger, Naruto managed to call forth a flare of the fox's power to utterly overpower my killing intent and free his teammates from it."

"How has he accessed it? Is the seal wearing down?" Sarutobi anxiously demanded.

"According to Naruto, he and the fox have an agreement: since Kyuubi's life is bound to his life through the seal, whenever Naruto may be in peril, Kyuubi will assist him," the faux-cycloptic jonin explained.

"I've no trust for the fox for even a second; there's no guarantee that it'll adhere to the agreement," Hiruzen curtly rumbled. His hands danced about his pipe momentarily as he contemplated his options. "Perhaps it would be prudent that my novelist student return for a visit," he said offhandedly.

"That would definitely be for the best," Kakashi immediately agreed, head nodding vigorously.

"Yes, yes, and hopefully he may have another 'story' for us, hmm, Kakashi-kun?" the Sandaime chuckled. "Go. If I know Naruto, this team will be quite the handful. I would recommend getting some sleep and not arriving late tomorrow. You do _not_ want to be late," he said, as he looked him over, head to toe, the jonin covered in paint. "Or at least, that's what I would assume given your current state."

Kakashi merely looked up lazily from the Icha-Icha he had been reading when Hiruzen hadn't been looking. "Hmm? Did you say something?"

The Sandaime sighed. "Just… leave, Kakashi."

XxX

Naruto jumped through his perpetually opened window into his room. "Hey, Sasuke! I'm home!"

"That didn't take too long. What did he want to talk to you about?" came the shouted reply.

"Oh, you know; why I shouldn't prank him, he's the authority, blah blah blah," Naruto nonchalantly lied.

"Yeah, sure. Deception is a powerful agent and all that Naruto," Sasuke snorted, as Naruto entered the nicely sized kitchen. They had a nice gas heater, which was currently cooking some rice and beef for gyudon. Sasuke had a sliced tomato on his plate at the dining table, which had an Uchiha symbol on each chair and on the center of the table, which was made for four people. "I heated up a small bowl of shrimp ramen for you as an appetizer before the gyudon. Enjoy, dobe."

Naruto growled without much anger as he grabbed the bowl from the oaken countertop and put on the dining space in front of Sasuke. "Jeez, you know I'm about as strong as you, if not stronger. I can't understand why you call me that."

Sasuke shrugged. "Well, I now have a reason; since you failed the genin test, the insult is valid."

Naruto sighed. "I'm not even gonna get into that."

"Whatever," Sasuke remarked as he began to chew another tomato slice. "Fo, whaf did oo want oo talk bout?" Sasuke asked, mouth full of tomato.

Naruto ignored Sasuke's complete, deliberate lack of manners as he began to speak. "It's a two-part business plan. You may want to get a list of the Uchiha enterprises."

Sasuke's eyes gleamed with interest. In the world of civilians and ninja, wealth was one form of power. Sasuke wasn't greedy, but in his opinion, one could never be too prosperous.

"Wait for a minute; I'll get it," Sasuke said, curiosity coloring his voice.

By the time Sasuke had returned, Naruto finished his ramen and was now bouncing in his seat impatiently. The raven-haired Uchiha unfurled the scroll containing the account of all industries the Uchiha were involved in as well as opening up the Uchiha Ledger to the most recent entry.

"As you may know, the Uchiha were involved in all business the Senju used to be," Sasuke explained, "For example, one business, which is now dried up, was the mercenary detail; the two clans have always been against each other. Right now, the main industries we have a foothold in are farming, inn keeping for ninjas and civilians, managing businesses, owning property, investing in enterprises, and providing resources, such as lumber. The Uchiha also have numerous minor footholds in other businesses, which are all in the scroll." Sasuke put down the scroll before looking to the ledger.

"As you can see, this our latest financial statement. When my clan lived," Sasuke said, unable to not flinch, "we had much better income. Yet, since we were unable to manage such things when we were younger, the village intervened and kept our business alive: an actually great suggestion from you, Naruto."

"Hmm," Naruto thought. "I suppose it is time for part one of my plan."

**Which is an uncharacteristically good plan.** Kyuubi added.

"Here is what I suggest: most of these businesses, which for some reason people call corporations, are owned publically by many people or investors. However, originally, the Uchiha enterprises were owned privately. It was written in your dad's will that you own the estate and all business, right?" Sasuke nodded. "Well, that means that now, since you're old enough, that you may have the right to take back control of them from the village."

"Who'll manage them, dobe?" Sasuke asked, beginning to get more interested.

"We'll advertise," Naruto waved off, "I'm sad to say it, but it's time to hire puppets for us to have. If we're all out of idiots, then we'll have to hire from the slums and help the poor; we may have to seal them, though, to make sure nobody starts thinking of stealing from you."

"You're starting to sound like those batshit crazy Hyuuga," Sasuke commented, slightly unnerved.

"Really? Well, okay then, just the simpletons. Of course, this means that you'll have to manage all of them and give them orders all the time. I'll pitch in as well, but since I'm not as financially savvy as you," Naruto said, mockingly saying 'savvy', "you'll have to be the main brains of the operation."

"How can I manage this whole thing, then?" the raven-haired heir asked, slightly disgruntled by the thought of so much work. "I mean, I don't think I'll be able to have a team, train, and control a business empire, Naruto."

"I have two ways to ease the burden that I will give you," the blond reluctantly said. "Kage Bunshin and a special seal I need to modify. We'll get to that later. I'll tell you the rest of the plan later; first, we need to get back your finances."

There was one last question Sasuke couldn't help but asking. "What do you even hope to gain with this crazy plan of yours, Naruto?"

Said blond merely smirked. "All in good time, Sasuke. In the meantime, lets chow down on some gyudon – which is _still_ inferior to ramen, no matter how good it is."

As the two later began to chow down, Naruto mentioned, "Oh, and you may want to eat breakfast. After all, we kinda need to be at our full power."

The two went to bed that night, uncertain of what lay ahead of them.

XxX

Naruto yawned lightly as he and Sasuke reached the training ground two hours after Kakashi had prescribed. Sakura sat there half furious, half sleepy as she jumped up with a finger jabbed towards Naruto. "You're late!" she accused.

"So's sensei!" Naruto said, giving a fake whine as Sasuke snorted while they sat next to her, laying down on the ground as they waited for Kakashi. He positioned his pouches, crossbow holster, and his newly added sword-in-scabbard so that he would not be uncomfortable.

"Hey Sakura, did you cut your hair?" came the curious question from Naruto. Indeed, while she had kept her normal clothes, her back length hair now went down to her shoulders, like after the Chunin Exam.

"Yes, I did, Naruto," Sakura smiled, "Do you like it, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke's eyes flickered to Sakura before he spoke, sounding like he had in Naruto's first life.

"It's practical," he grunted.

"Well, I think it looks good," Naruto complimented. "I guess this means you're sort of serious about being a shinobi, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so," she muttered, a little happy from Naruto's words. Suddenly, her stomach growled. Sakura blushed as Naruto chuckled.

"Didn't you eat breakfast? After all, a ninja needs to be at their best."

"Sensei said we shouldn't eat breakfast!" Sakura chided.

"He didn't say that we couldn't eat breakfast," Naruto retorted. Sasuke said nothing; he simply tossed her an apple from one of his utility pouches.

As she held it, Sakura smiled at the gift. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun." She began to chow down on the delicious red treat.

As she did, Naruto began to recall the discussion he'd had last night. It certainly raised numerous questions but also answered about as much.

XxX Flashback XxX

_As he did the previous night, Naruto was laying on his bed, unable to sleep as he gave a mental call, 'Rikudo Sennin?'_

'_**I see one night of waiting hasn't tempered your curiosity or your patience**__,' came a chuckling voice. _

'_Should I talk to you at another time or…' Naruto thought hesitantly._

'_**No, it is fine. Why is it you have contacted me?**__'_

'_I was wondering what happened last night. How did I do whatever I did and what was it that even happened?' Naruto asked._

_The Sage sighed. '__**I suppose it is time. Kurama!**__' he called. '__**I must speak to you and your partner.**__'_

_**I am not his partner**__, Kyuubi growled, entering the conversation, __**and being partners means he is my equal; absolute bullshit.**_

'_**In time, my child. But now is not the time for petty squabbling. I shall tell you of how I've come to be with you.**__'_

'_**Centuries ago, after I had become the Juubi's container – **__'_

'_YOU BEAT THE JUUBI!'_ _Naruto mentally screamed._

'_**Yes, I did. Now, hush,**__' the Sage ordered. '__**After I had contained Juubi, I created the arts you now call today ninjutsu, taijutsu, fuuinjutsu, and genjutsu as well as creating the life-energy, chakra. When I did, I created life on this planet – trees, animals, and other creatures. In a sense, I was God – not a true one, but worshipped as one.**__'_

'_Holy shit,' Naruto thought in amazement, 'You created all of that!'_

'_**Yes. Part of the power I had unlocked after becoming Juubi's container was the ability of premonition, a power of weaker strength that I also gave to one of the animals in what you call a Summoning Contract – your contract, to be precise.**__'_

'_What is premontion?'_

_**Premonition, you idiotic fleshbag. He could foresee events before they occurred. **__Kurama growled in exasperation._

'_You and one of the Toads could tell the future?' Naruto asked, voice filling with awe._

'_**It's really not as great as it seems**__,' the Sage sighed, '__**I saw a time in the past when your teacher received a prophecy – a prophecy of a student of his bringing either peace to this world of ours, which I desired, or plunging it into endless war. His student would inherit something from me to aid him in that goal. I could not see as far ahead as I wanted because I grew weak. So, I tried making what you call a fail-safe.**__'_

_Naruto's eyes were wide open in shock as the Sage continued._

'_**I was frightened for the world I would leave behind. After I'd had my two sons, whom you call the Senju and Uchiha, I was soon to reach my end. I didn't want to take any chances; I had six weapons and I sealed a part of my power in each of them, hidden. My sword united them all.**__'_

'_I… really don't understand. How and what did you seal?'_

'_**I thought the prophecy meant my bloodline, an ability of one who has my blood, a melding of Senju and Uchiha; my power that allowed me to defeat the great Juubi: Rinnegan, the eye of rebirth and Six Paths, which allows the user control over even life and death. It is why I am called Rikudo.**__'_

'_So you were afraid this kickass doujutsu would fall into the wrong hands?'_

'_**I suppose in a rather blunt way, yes,**__' responded the Rikudo Sennin, '__**What I did to ensure that only a chosen one was alter fate and bend it to my will.**__'_

'_I don't understand – how is that even possible?' Naruto thought, confusion in his mind above all._

'_**You ask many questions, young one**__,' replied a chuckling Sage, '__**I cannot blame you for that. It was an ability that I'd passed down to my son, the Uchiha. But that was an incomplete form – that merely altered fate in a sense of the mind. My power made it so I could actually control fate on a physical plane. I meddled in fate so that it guarantee the chosen one from **_**my**_** prophecy would receive my blade.**__'_

'_So then, I'm this Chosen One to bring about peace?' Naruto thought pensively._

'_**You have my blade, do you not? In any case, the blade contains the Rinnegan, sealed by my power.**__'_

'_I thought you said it was passed down?'_

'_**By blood. I have sealed its powers within the blade. Or rather, I have sealed its powers **_**and**_** myself within the blade – a portion of my soul to guide you.**__'_

'_You said this sword was to unite your weapons, right? What happens if I do?'_

'_**Then, my boy, you will unlock the power of mine eye; you shall unlock the Rinnegan.**__'_

'_This isn't by blood, huh? So it'll be sealed in or to me or… something.'_

'_**I would recommend becoming a master of fuuinjutsu before trying to learn what I have done,**__' offered the Sage,__** 'Even I cannot entirely remember. Anyway, do you recall a staff?**__'_

'_That ringed thing from the Scroll? Yeah, I held in my hand with the sword and it was gone.'_

'_**That was my staff, the Shakujo, that merged with the blade. It was one of my six weapons. The others you would know as my "Treasured Tools." Heavens know what you mortals were thinking of when you thought of that name,**__' thought the Sage with a chuckle._

'_Oh, shit. Those are held by Kumo,' Naruto thought in shock. 'I don't think they'll just let me waltz in and take it.'_

_**And Gyuki and Matatabi are there,**__ Kyuubi snarled. __**I KNOW your pathetic ass isn't ready to face them in battle, especially if they can control my siblings' powers. **_

'_**If I recall reading the slightest glimpses of history from your memories, I believe two traitorous brothers stole four of my weapons. Perhaps if you find them, you'll be able to access more of my power.**__'_

'_Speaking of your power, what happened last night? Were those extra-kickass techniques of yours I used?'_

'_**You used two techniques from one of the Six Paths of the Rinnegan: the Deva Path. And I'd say the two are handier than you'd think, with a little time needed to recharge before usage. I've sealed the other five Paths in my other weapons. Find them and you can unlock the full power of the Rinnegan,**__' the Sage thought. Seeing the direction Naruto's thoughts were going, the Sage quickly cut his train of thought, '__**You do not have the Rinnegan yet. Merge my blade with the other weapons and it shall be unlocked. Use my power with care.**__'_

'_And those techniques, did I use them or was it the sword?' Naruto asked._

'_**I made it so the sword and you would evolve – every Path the sword gains, you gain. So, every Path you can use, the sword can use. It is, how you say, a "double-whammy."'**_

'_Fuck. Yes. Good night.' Naruto thought as began to fall asleep._

'_Wait! Before I sleep, I have one last question,' Naruto furiously thought._

'_**Speak.**__'_

'_What about me makes me so capable to be this hero?'_

_The Sage chuckled. '__**Is it not apparent? For one thing, only one I shall mention, you can change fate as I can, like you did according to that white-eyed boy. But unlike I, who had to use a jutsu, you did it through sheer determinaion and belief; I'd say you're as strong as, if not stronger, than me.**__'_

_The blond gave a massive grin. The last thing he heard before falling asleep was the Rikudo Sennin recommending he name his new blade._

XxX Flashback End XxX

As Sakura finished her apple, Kakashi _finally_ chose to arrive.

"Yo!" Kakashi said.

He was late.

"Sorry I'm late, but you see, a ton of birds somehow infested my house in the middle of the night and broke all of my plates. So when I woke up, I had to buy more plates, but as I went home, a little child got stuck in a well. So, I had to summon my hounds to get it out only to realize that it was actually a scarecrow in the well. And when I almost reached home, I ran into a black cat, so to ward off bad luck, I had to circle the block seven times," Kakashi cheerfully said.

Silence.

"LIAR!" Sakura fumed.

"Maa maa," Kakashi placatingly said as he held his hands in front of him in sheepishness. "Anyway it's time to begin the test. What we have is a survival test," he spoke as he held up two bells. "I have two bells for the team to get before noon. That means two of can pass and get lunch. Get it? Grab the bells and – "

At that point, Kakashi was cut off as Naruto shouted, charging at him with his newly acquired sword.

In a flash, Kakashi grabbed Naruto's free hand in a hammerlock as he tightly grabbed the hand holding the sword and held it to Naruto's neck.

"I didn't finish explaining the rules nor say go," Kakashi said plainly.

Naruto grinned. "Since when do ninja wait for go?"

Kakashi snorted, while keeping pressure on Naruto. "Funny. Anyway, if you get a bell, you get lunch and a pass. If you don't, I'll tie you to one of the posts," he spoke, motioning his head towards said posts, "and eat lunch in front of you."

"Talk about cruel and unusual punishment," Naruto chuckled, uncaring of his precarious position. Sakura looked slightly frightened at Kakashi's speed and concerned for Naruto. Sasuke was simply frowning at his sensei's velocity and pondering how to counter it.

"Well, technically, you already failed since you're basically dead," the silver-haired jonin pointed out.

"Oh, am I?" Naruto uttered with a smirk. A cold blade rested its tip on the back of Kakashi's neck. "I don't think so," another voice spoke, a Naruto behind Kakashi.

Sakura gasped while Sasuke narrowed his eyes. This jonin wouldn't get caught _again_ would he?

"Very impressive," Kakashi chuckled. The blade at the back of his neck was driven into his body, severing his spinal cord.

POOF!

"But it isn't enough," a voice from twenty feet away, on the center log.

"I suppose it wouldn't be," Naruto said as he and his clone turned towards Kakashi. He gave the man a wicked grin.

"Now, I'll let you have a formal introduction with Kyuseishu!" he shouted, charging at the man once more, while the other Naruto began forming handsigns.

Kakashi hopped to the ground as formed handsigns as well, much faster than the other Naruto. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" he shouted, letting loose a large sphere of fire at Naruto.

Sakura shrieked as she threw kunai at Kakashi. "Naruto, watch out!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he charged with all his speed at Kakashi while drawing his wire.

But they were too slow.

Naruto charged towards the fire when –

"Suiton: Mizurappa!" A torrent of water appeared in front of the charging Naruto and surged towards the fireball. A cloud of mist erupted as Kakashi stood wide-eyed at the technique of the Nidaime.

Suddenly, a shouting Naruto descended upon Kakashi from an obscured jump, sword poised to cleave the teacher in half.

Quickly, the silver haired man sidestepped Naruto and buried a fist in the blond's gut.

POOF!

"I must say, you are doing a great job of having your clones play your role as the original, Naruto," Kakashi said as he turned to the blond.

Two shuriken were sent hurling at Kakashi who merely held them on his fingers, which were stuck through the hole. "Is that all, Sakura?" he lazily drawled. "Because if so –"

At that moment, Kakashi fell to the ground in pieces – pieces of wood. The young Uchiha frowned as he retracted his glowing blue wire.

"Replacement," Sasuke scoffed, "Do you know where he is, Naruto?"

"I'll spread out some feelers," Naruto joked as he put his hand into his infamous cross handsign. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Forty clones materialized and saluted him with a loud, 'YOSH!' before going off to look for the perverted jonin.

"I'd like to be the one to recommend that all three of us work together," Naruto offered as he sheathed his sword, "because despite how badass any one of us may be, one person isn't enough to beat this guy."

"What makes you so sure about that?" Sakura asked curiously. The blond Jinchuuriki snorted.

"Well, other than he's a borderline S-rank jonin? He's supposed to be some smart-as-hell-genius, like your brother, Sasuke." Sasuke's fists clenched at the thought. "Plus, he also has the Sharingan so don't count on this whole thing so easy."

While Sasuke didn't react, Sakura gave a small gasp in shock as she began to ruminate on how he could have it.

"If we gang up on him, I don't think he'd be able to stop us from getting a bell," Naruto continued, "and if I'm gonna go back to the Academy, I'm sure as hell gonna do it fighting – fighting with my new team. Whaddya say guys?" he asked with a huge grin, hand put out.

Sasuke looked on uncertainly before confidently putting his hand in the middle of the impromptu circle. "I've always been with you and I won't stop now – I'm in."

Sakura couldn't help but feel a little jealous at the attention Sasuke gave Naruto. Sure they were roommates but –

"Sakura!" called Naruto, pulling her out of her thoughts, "Are you in?"

"Yes!" she quickly said, before saying it with more strength, more confidence, "Hell yes."

The three grinned as they removed their hands from the circle as they began to formulate a plan.

A team was just born.

XxX

Kakashi hummed as he threw another kunai at a Naruto clone. There were certainly easy enough to kill at his leisure. Kakashi pondered what was happening.

Naruto, a fresh genin, knew how to do Kage Bunshin and the Nidaime's technique of using water from air? A rarity.

Perhaps this warranted another meeting. Or, perhaps he should merely accept Naruto's abilities and forget all about the implications of them.

Yeah. That last one sounded a lot funnier. Definitely it.

Still, his cute little genin still hadn't shown him an act of teamwork. Perhaps after the test was over, he'd start instilling in them what Obito and Minato-sensei had taught him.

SLASH!

"Thirty-four," Kakashi muttered. Just how many clones could Naruto create?

Suddenly, he didn't have to worry about clones anymore. Out of the forest walked out a smirking Naruto and Sasuke. Hopefully, it wasn't a Naruto clone and he could finally test Sasuke.

Sasuke quickly began to run through familiar handsigns, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Kakashi. Both of them could do that jutsu?

"Katon," barked Sasuke as he drew a breath, "Gokakyu no Jutsu!" The aforementioned Uchiha spat out a flamethrower at his new sensei, not overwhelming in size. Perhaps he could douse it with a –

"Fuuton," Naruto shouted, hands in a handsign, "Daitoppa!" Kakashi widened his eyes as he ran through handsigns as fast as he could. A simple wall wouldn't hack it; he needed to overwhelm the jutsu.

The wind began to fuel the flames and turned it from a simple flamethrower to a massive, orange inferno that was speeding towards Kakashi.

"Suiton: Suiryuudan!" Kakashi shouted, hands in the last handsign. A massive dragon made of water surged from the river and roared as it charged straight at the inferno. An explosion of steam emerged from the impact as the two jutsu collided.

Kunai came from the mist and missed their mark, landing beside him. Kakashi swore. Those had nearly hit his legs! They had probably…

Learned the lesson: teamwork.

But when Kakashi was about to go after Naruto in the steam, he found that he was unable to move his arms. Suddenly, the force holding them pulled his arms back, holding them uncomfortably behind his back. "Shit…!" Kakashi's hands were kept far enough apart that he couldn't make any handsigns to escape this predicament. Somehow, he couldn't use any of his strength to uproot the source of the wires.

"It looks like," commented the voice of his intriguing blond student, "checkmate."

The mist began to clear and in front of his eye, Kakashi saw the end of a loaded crossbow pointing at his face, held by a grinning Naruto.

Beside him stood a somewhat happy, somewhat nervous Sakura, whose hands were kept in a handsign, eyes trained on Kakashi's legs. Sasuke was probably holding the wire keeping him at bay.

"It seems like," Kakashi dryly said, "that you three have got a serious thing for bondage."

Perceptibly, Kakashi's bonds began to heat up, painfully burning his wrists. A blushing Naruto responded with a phrase that made Kakashi blush while Sakura's already intense blush grow deeper.

"I should wash out your mouth with soap for such language," scolded Kakashi.

"And I should bleach your eyes for reading Icha-Icha in front of kids, ero-sensei!" Naruto shot back.

A tic grew above Sakura's right eye. "Sensei's a perv?" she asked disgusted.

"You should see him reading that in the village, all giggly and stuff," Naruto sadly added.

"Damn, sensei," Sasuke swore with difficulty (wires in his teeth), "How are you not killed by the village girls?"

"Because they know I could do it them much faster," spoke Kakashi, paradoxical with his eye smile.

A sweatdrop rolled down the back of Naruto's forehead. '_This is my sensei, huh?_' He cleared his throat before speaking.

"Let's get to brass makibishi, shall we? Now sensei, Sakura is going to come over and take the bells; I don't think you want to move," Naruto said with a wicked grin. "If you dare move your arms or hands for a jutsu, Sasuke is primed for using his Ryuka no Jutsu and trust me when I say that if he does use it, you won't _ever _be able to grease your pole again!" Kakashi shuddered slightly at the mental image as Naruto continued.

"Move your head and I'll either blow a hole in your face or heart my little friend here. And at your feet?" Naruto motioned with his head at the two kunai a few feet away from Kakashi's legs before continuing, "If you move your legs at all, Sakura with blow 'em off with a flare of chakra; after all, the kunai you thought missed were wrapped with things called explosive tags."

Kakashi refrained from whistling. That _was _an elaborate setup to get him to stay still. Credit was due: combat-wise, their teamwork had passed. Still, they had yet to pass his last test.

"Alright, you've won," Kakashi said, as Sakura cautiously walked over before snatching away the bells. "But there are only two bells, Sakura; who will you give them to?"

Sakura's eyes widened as she realized the connotations of winning: one person would go back and she would have to choose.

"Give Sasuke the bell," spoke the voice of Naruto, "after all, it wouldn't do for such an excellent team to have the dead last."

Sakura's eyes widened as Sasuke angrily cut in, "Are you kidding? Dead last doesn't really seem to suit you; after all, you _did_ formulate the majority of the plan. Sakura, give the bell to him. I don't mind staying a year back at the Academy and learning more."

The rosette's eyes darted back and forth between her blond classmate and her crush. What could she do? Give a bell to Naruto and not have Sasuke-kun. But give a bell to Sasuke-kun and she'll feel guilty about not giving one to Naruto.

'_What matters most? What I want or what is right?_' pondered Sakura. Throughout this entire exercise, they'd been working together to get the bells, as they could not have gotten them alone. But why…

Teamwork.

That was the point of this exercise! How else could a ninja cell operate without working together?

Still, what would she do for her team? Fight for them? Yes. Protect them? Hell yes.

Kill for them?

Sakura's next decision decided her fate on Team 7: '_Without mercy._'

The rosette finally seemed ready to make a decision. Naruto and Sasuke looked slightly awed as she threw to them a bell each, confidence in her green eyes.

A released Kakashi rubbed his wrists, as he asked, "You do realize that you won't be passing your Genin Exam by giving these two the bells, right?"

Sakura smiled. "What is a team if a member isn't willing to make sacrifices to protect her comrade?"

Naruto let out a radiant grin as Sasuke's mouth turned into the first smile she had ever seen on his face. Kakashi's eye turned up in an eye-smile.

"Well, I guess that settles it: you pass!" Kakashi smiled underneath his mask, as he gave his new students thumbs up. "From this day forward, you are Team 7, genin of Konohagakure and my new students. Tomorrow, we start missions and training." A growl emanated from everybody's' stomachs.

"But first, Ichiraku ramen on Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cheered as his new teammates followed the laughing blond with large smiles.

Kakashi rushed right after his new charges. "I've seen how much you eat, Naruto and I am not paying for that!" he half wept, half yelled.

Yet, if he looked back on this moment several years later, Kakashi would feel the same thing he did that time:

Somehow, it wouldn't matter too much if his students ate him out of house and home; he still had them.

Then, the Kakashi from the present would blink and remember that he had been banned from the payment of his next missions (all D-rank). Kakashi decided to really book it after Naruto to impose a strict rule he liked to call the 'Only-Two-Bowls' rule.

The sun set on a day of beginning legends.

Only time would tell how their tales would turn out.

XxX End Chapter XxX

**Greetings, readers! I am really sorry I've not really updated this chapter as early as I wanted but I've been working my ASS off on academics, dealing with family, holidays, coming to terms with the (fake) apocalypse, and, of course, beating the NEW AND AWESOME FAR CRY 3!**

**But anyway, I really decided to write my ass off for this chapter to give you what you (hopefully) wanted as a little HAPPY HOLIDAYS present. **

**I hope my explanation of Naruto's sword's powers revealed a general idea of what it can do and what happened in the last chapter.**

**Anyway, I'll see you all soon. Merry belated Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukkah, etc. i.e. Happy Holidays. Can't wait to start writing for you all in 2013!**

**Please read and review. Whether you send me flames, criticism, or compliments, it's all welcome and it'll make my New Year a whole lot better.**

**Thank you all and I hope you all have lived life the way you've wanted to in this beautiful and exciting year of 2012.**

**King, signing out.**


	10. Interlude 1: Lessons To Be Learned

**Naruto: Fishcake Chronicles: Interlude 1**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any videogame for that matter. And I don't own Majin's or Chibi's stories. I'm simply making my own. Oh yeah, the original characters, THEY'RE MINE FUCKERS!**

**Welcome back! I'm your host HKN and I'm bringing YOU, my readers, another chapter of Fishcake Chronicles.**

**I will answer a question now and address a few things.**

**Kurotoutou: Your English isn't a problem to me, man; no biggie. Thanks for the compliment. And since Ryu is kind of the main guy of Street Fighter (and he CAN do the Shoryuuken), I picked the more familiar name since I'm not as familiar with Street Fighter as others are.**

**Now, thank you for the compliments.**

**And for those of you with concerns about certain things, I will PUBLICLY address those:**

"**No Game In Last Chapter": This game is meant to mimic life for Naruto. So, not every chapter will have references to his state; he has to live his life after all. And anyway, I was exhausted off my ASS when I wrote this; I couldn't finish the stats with my sanity intact. So, I decided to include that in this Chapter. **

"**I-Hate-Hina-Pairing": To those people who hate Hinata's pairing in this, believe it or not, I hate Hinata being paired to Naruto; most of this occurs in stories where it happens by some SUPERNATURAL method that ends up making Naruto Godlike, Hiashi an asshole, Hinata a stuttering princess who deserves everything, and the obligatory Sasu-Saku-perhaps-Kiba-bashing where some of these people are portrayed as psychopaths, potential rapists, and just plain fucked up characters. There is TOO MUCH of this shit, which is why when I learned that Hinata was to be paired, I wouldn't do that shit. And behold, they aren't freaking married yet and Naruto isn't a God: I think I'm doing okay for now. **

**I only say don't stop reading because DEMOCRACY decreed that I include Hinata in this, and, to be honest, that's worlds away from this point. I'm still trying to figure out Haku. And if I may share something, I was actually rooting for Soifon. So please don't hate on me for such. **

**My last comment on this vein is this: most stories that have Naruto paired, especially some of the more popular stories, are ones where Naruto is with **_**effing Sasuke**_**! I have nothing against yaoi or gays, but really: is it so bad Cso many people can do it with Sasuke instead! **

"**I-Hate-Assassins-Creed": I have received several comments detailing displeasure at this and I don't understand why. If you don't like it, send me a PM or comment explaining why you dislike this Crossover Element and I'll consider it.**

**Now, onto the next chapter… or interlude! Whatever!**

**XxX Interlude 1: Lessons To Be Learned XxX**

XxX Flashback XxX

_Naruto swore as he slurped his ramen. "Damn it, sensei," he uttered, "I'll only eat two bowls; you don't need to have a Kage Bunshin hovering over me, ready to use Sennen Goroshi with fucking chopsticks!"_

_At that, both Ayame and Kakashi's clone smacked Naruto in the head; Ayame struck with a ladle and the Kakashi-clone used his chopsticks. "Language," chided the Kakashi-clone and Ayame as Naruto furiously muttered while holding his head. _

"_Oh, Naruto," Kakashi spoke in a sing-song voice with his eye in a signature U-shape, "If _only_ I could believe you."_

_Sakura tried not to giggle at the scene going on to her right, Sasuke unable to hide a small smirk at Naruto's expense, though Sakura hadn't touched her ramen. _

"_Sakura-chan," Naruto muttered as he rubbed his afflicted cranium, "why don'tcha have your ramen? I mean, it _is _Kakashi's treat…"_

_Sakura blushed slightly as she fumbled for a plausible explanation, "I – um, well –"_

" – _am dieting?" Naruto finished for her, not wanting her to get anymore flustered, "Sakura-chan, we'll probably work it off in training, extra training, and through missions. You'll be dead tired if you don't eat enough."_

_Sakura felt slightly ticked off at Naruto's criticism (which was actually helpful advice). "What would you know about how much to eat?" Sakura muttered._

_Naruto smiled though it didn't truly reach his eyes, "Well, as someone who's wondered for many days how to get his next meal, I'd say its important to eat up." Sakura felt shocked as she turned her head to the rueful blond. Sasuke, too, turned his head to Naruto, interested and yet a little surprised, as he knew not much of the blond's past. Kakashi kept his eye on his book, wanting to veer off the topic as soon as possible. _

"_Naruto, I –" she began before she was cut off. _

" – _And besides, have you seen Chouji's family? They're super-strong even though they eat so much!" Naruto interjected excitedly, hoping to veer from the topic Sakura wanted to pursue._

_The rosette huffed, but began to eat with a sad, pondering look in her eyes. _

"_So," Kakashi coughed, hoping to end the awkward silence, "what shall be our schedule tomorrow? Missions or training?"_

"_Gee, sensei, I _really_ don't want to spend the entire day chasing after a cat," Naruto sarcastically deadpanned, "so instead, we should train so we're better prepared for missions that come up." Suddenly, Naruto's eyes shone as he continued to speak excitedly, "Kakashi-sensei! Maybe you can evaluate us so we have an idea of what we should better train! What did you think of our abilities?"_

_The blond's two comrades quirked their heads towards Kakashi, eager for his assessment. _

"_Well," Kakashi carefully said, "I didn't see much of all of your abilities so I'll assess you based on your performance, your files, and my own inferences." _

"_Naruto, from what I can tell, you have immense chakra reserves and from I've been told, you're learning to try to control that: good. If you can continue to control your chakra, many avenues of techniques and jutsu will be available to you. You seem to have the most potential in ninjutsu, but from what I hear, you're diversifying."_

"_Yeah," Naruto said with a vigorous nod, "I'm learning fuuinjutsu and kenjutsu."_

"_Well, I'm not _entirely_ sure you should spread yourself out so diversely –"_

"_Don't worry, sensei," Naruto chuckled with a grin, "I've got a… shadowy training technique."_

_Kakashi's eyebrows rose as he considered his student's potential: if he could utilize the Kage Bunshin and already had been utilizing it, his skill level was a definite unknown. But his potential…_

_It was through the roof._

_It would be difficult for him to learn all on his own but with a teacher, it was a definite possibility that his student could ascend past even the Yondaime –_

"_Oh, yeah," Naruto suddenly said, "is it okay if I teach Sakura and Sasuke how to do it, too?" _

"_Absolutely not," Kakashi sternly said, "Sasuke would be utterly exhausted at the end, and Sakura would end up in intensive care."_

_The aforementioned girl looked slightly flabbergasted; what kind of training would make her end up in such a state?_

_Sasuke, on the other, narrowed his eyes as he kept a cool gaze on the arguing duo. _

"_Sasuke can probably do one without utterly exhausting himself, two at max; I can see your point about Sakura, though," Naruto begrudgingly said, "so, maybe they should work on more chakra building exercises before I can teach it to them." _

"_Perhaps," Kakashi conceded, "Anyway, back to the assessment: you are an absolute novice at kenjutsu, as per my own experience, so since I used to have a sword, I'll teach you how to use one."_

_Sasuke had been holding back from speaking until Kakashi mentioned his own experience in swordplay, "I'd also like to learn how to wield a blade," Sasuke muttered. _

_Kakashi ruffled the Uchiha's hair, causing him to scowl while the Kakashi-clone chuckled. "Maa maa, Sasuke-chan, be patient. Anyway, I don't know much about your proficiency with sealing, but perhaps I can teach you a thing or two. With weapons, I'll assume you're good with the ones you carry around, though I have to ask: a crossbow?"_

_Naruto shrugged, "Only good thing for long-range that I've got." _

"_Fine. According to reports on your taijutsu, you're okay, but not the best; the same goes for your own intelligence. I'll also take your word about how you're damn good at stealth. Overall, I'd say in a ninja cell, you'd play the role of reconnaissance because of your "shadows"," he mentioned, hinting at the blond's clones, "demolition because of sealing and your ninjutsu capabilities, a tank because of your huge stamina, an elite infantry because of kenjutsu, and the assassin of the group due to your excellent stealth."_

_Naruto grinned and supplied, "I also know a couple of versatile jutsu that make me okay at interrogation, capture, and signaling for help."_

"_That's excellent to know; hopefully, when you guys make it to jonin, you'll be able to do much. Now, Sasuke," Kakashi spoke, garnering the raven-haired boy's attention, "From what I've seen, it appears you're pretty nifty with wires; I'll see if I can find someone to help you out with that. I'll assume that, like Naruto, you know Katon jutsu."_

"_Hnn," Sasuke grunted, "I know a number of Katon jutsu," which was all he said, unwilling to elaborate more._

"_Say, Naruto, how do you live with him?" the blond Jinchuuriki muttered under his breath, "Oh, simple, I just get used to the fact that he always has his game-face on."_

_Kakashi chuckled and continued to speak, "Your taijutsu appears to be what you excel at. Do you already have the Sharingan?" When Sasuke shook his head, Kakashi replied, "Once you do, you'll be better at using and improving each aspect of fighting. The Sharingan is especially useful against ninjutsu and genjutsu, and even better in using them; which would you like to concentrate on?"_

_Sasuke hesitated before thinking on what he knew and remembered. Itachi. What was _his_ specialty?_

"_Genjutsu," Sasuke firmly replied, "I'd like to be better at Genjutsu." Not entirely expecting his response, Kakashi merely shrugged._

"_Team 8's jonin sensei is a Genjutsu specialist. I'll see if she can help you out," the silver haired jonin supplied._

"_Actually, Kakashi-sensei, could we also train with Team 8?" Naruto asked, trying to hide that he wanted to train only with Hinata, "After all, from what I know of our team, the only tracker we have on this team is you; since Team 8 is a team full of trackers, we could really use the training."_

"_Hmm," Kakashi hummed, "I'll see if I can arrange it." The clone of Kakashi moved its chopsticks to the seat of Naruto's pants._

"_That's two," it said in a singsong voice, making Naruto grumble._

_As Kakashi's other students chuckled at Naruto's faux-misery (see: Sasuke smirked), Kakashi continued, "I would say, given your current knowledge and possible knowledge, you would be a demolitionist due to your fire techniques, an elite infantry due to your precise taijutsu and the based on the possibility that you learn kenjutsu from me, an interrogator due to the Sharingan and your demeanor," the scarecrow-like man said, earning a scowl from Sasuke, "a hunter or capturer because of your skill with wires, and a potential assassin given the right training."_

"_Overall," Kakashi continued, not finished, "Naruto and Sasuke, you two have characteristics of ANBU," garnering a cheer from Naruto, while Sasuke remained passive, sensing a 'but' coming from Kakashi._

"_But, at the moment, Sakura is on your team." Sakura felt her teammates' stares on her, the three people wondering where Kakashi was going with this._

"_Sakura, you are a blank slate. While you aren't particularly good at anything yet, you don't have any specialty at the moment, which is good; that means you have options. With your chakra control, I'd definitely say you'd be skilled with Genjutsu, probably as good as Sasuke could be, and you are cut out for medical techniques. However, that does not mean you will be merely support," Kakashi explained, voice growing a bit sterner at the end. Internally, he made the decision of his course of action._

"_I… don't understand where you're going with this, sensei," a confused Sakura said, as she watched Kakashi give Ayame and Teuchi payment for the ramen they had finished. _

"_Come," he said simply, "All of you, walk with me."_

_XxX_

_Kakashi said not a word until the squad had reached a black spire, which made Naruto flinch._

_It was the memorial stone. _

"_This stone is the Stone of Heroes," the silver-haired man explained quietly, "some of Konoha's greatest heroes names are on this stone. All of them share one thing due to actions, inaction," he said, Sakura feeling a chill up her spine at his words, secretly warning against hesitance, "and evil overall."_

"_KIA," breathed Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura bowed their heads in respect at hearing Naruto. _

"_Killed In Action," Kakashi murmured, "from the Shodaime to my sensei to my father to my teammates." He turned his head to his students as he spoke. "I lost my teammate because of one thing: I abandoned the other in favor of completing the mission. If there is anything I want to teach you, it is this: ninja who abandon the mission are trash, but ninja who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."_

_Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stared at him in slight awe and yet in sympathy. '_This… is our sensei,_' they all thought. Despite his antics or bad habits, they could respect him. He'd made mistakes, but he'd come out on top as one of the greatest ninjas of Konoha. And yet, Kakashi wanted to make sure they didn't end up like him: alone._

"_Sakura," Kakashi asked at last, getting her to focus on him, "which was the greatest team of Konoha?"_

_Slightly confused, Sakura replied, "The Sannin, sensei." _

_Kakashi nodded. "You have the potential to be greater than Tsunade, Sakura," he said, "I expect that like her, you simply won't stand around as support. Find a way to always help out your teammates." He turned around and faced them with confidence in his eye._

"_Hokage-sama saw fit to put you three together because he believes that you could be greater than his students," Kakashi said, getting wide eyes, especially from Naruto, at their leader's faith._

'Jiji… you believe in us… you believe in me,_' Naruto thought in elation and determination, '_I won't let you down!_'_

"_Will you be great? That is up to you. But whether you are great or not, always remember the lessons you learn; they are a teacher's greatest gift."_

_A breeze began to blow through the training ground and it picked up the leaves from the nearby clearing. "Same time and place tomorrow," Kakashi said with an eye-smile. As the breeze blew, the leaves swirled around Kakashi's figure and with a gust of wind, he disappeared, with his last words floating through the wind._

"_Team dismissed."_

_XxX End Flashback XxX_

**XxX End Interlude XxX**

**I am really sorry I don't have a full-length chapter for you guys, I really am. But EXAMS, man… they suck the life out of you faster than a leech can your blood.**

**Initially, I intended this interlude to be a part of the full chapter but I've been having a case of writers block combined with lack of time to work. In any case, I intended this part to explain the extra zeal and enthusiasm to work that may be apparent in the coming chapters. Also, it was to give a bit of character development that may or may not have already been there for Kakashi… plus, I wanted to instill the idea that Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had greatness to live up to and instill the drive for them to do so. **

**Wave Arc MAY begin next chapter… so watch out for that sometime maybe soon, maybe in a while.**

**Thank you to all my reviewers and readers and once again, I'm REALLY sorry I couldn't give you the full-length chapter you deserve.**

**So, read, review, or eat a chicken to my interlude; doesn't matter to me. I care about feedback though and it would greatly help my writing.**

**King, signing out.**


	11. Training Day: Starring Team Seven

**Naruto: Fishcake Chronicles: Chapter 10**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any videogame for that matter. And I don't own Majin's or Chibi's stories. I'm simply making my own. Oh yeah, the original characters, THEY'RE MINE FUCKERS!**

**Welcome back! I'm your host HKN and I'm bringing YOU, my readers, another chapter of Fishcake Chronicles.**

**I'm gonna answer a few questions now.**

**Oldtimeydude: Eh, it was sort of supposed to be an Easter Egg; a LOT of specific shit has to happen to trigger a Crossover Element. Why else am I going to include the other stuff (including Bleach) till much later? Don't worry, I (hopefully) will have it under control.**

**Ryu Flemming: Excellent question. They are the Treasured Tools of the Rikudo Sennin. Next crossover? Hmm… maybe in Chunin Exam. Where exactly? Not sure yet.**

**Ibskib: Don't worry, you'll find out about Will of Fire soon enough; it's gonna be one of those Game surprises people have.**

**Just for general knowledge, yes, the pairing is NaruHakuHina. **

**I'd like to apologize to Mr or Ms Tanuki specifically: I'm sorry I haven't reached Wave Arc yet. But I will get there next chapter. Believe it.**

**Thank you for all your compliments, too!**

**Now, onto the next chapter!**

**XxX Chapter 10: Training Day: Starring Team Seven XxX**

**Boss Fight Completed! 'Kakashi Hatake!' Kenjutsu: +4! Intelligence: +4! Experience Gained: 197! Achievement Unlocked: 'The A-Team!'**

**Gained Precious Person! 'Sakura Haruno!' Gained Precious Person! 'Kakashi Hatake!' Experience Gained: 50!**

**Gained Teacher! 'Kakashi Hatake!' To Train, go to Training Grounds! **

**Joined Faction! 'Team 7/Team Kakashi!' Experience Gained: 50!**

Naruto stared at these words. Train?

What. The. Fuck.

He just had to go to the damn _Training Grounds_ to get Kakashi to fucking teach him?

"This game sucks," Naruto mumbled in frustration as the words combined into one fishcake. It shot down his gullet, Naruto uncaring of how it felt going down.

The blonde flopped back onto his bed and sighed. '_Geez, I didn't even get an explanation when it talked about training…'_

**Then go to this training area and better your pathetic self; I will not let myself be represented by a container of such puny power. **Kyuubi sneered.

'_It's, like, nine at night,'_ Naruto retorted, '_What will I be able to do in the dark?_'

**Idiot mortal, people before have trained their bodies, minds, and souls in the darkness and have become greater than even some of the demons of hell.**

'_Whatever; can you tell me if even one of them didn't go batshit insane or homicidal?'_ Naruto frowningly thought back in return.

**No matter how their tales ended, those mortals' lives were glorious as they commanded the power to do what they wished and I will not stand you losing like such a disgrace to that rat Ichibi and the snake. **

"Oh yeah!" Naruto exclaimed. "We've got six months till the Chunin Exams!"

Six months to get better before he would get in the ring with Neji or Gaara or whoever that needed an ass kicking.

Naruto got off his bed and picked up some weapons. '_Might as well get some training, then.'_

XxX

Naruto stood in confusion outside the Training Grounds. Three lines floated in front of a gate that led to the aforementioned area.

**TRAIN WITH TEACHER**

**BATTLE TRAINING**

**PRACTICE MOVES/JUTSU**

"The hell?" Naruto muttered. "Train With Teacher!" he shouted.

**UNAVAILABLE! NO TEACHERS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME! **

**KAKASHI'S AVAILABLITY: 6:00 – 19:00**

"Damnit," the blond swore. Looks like he wouldn't be learning any new moves just yet. "Battle Training!"

**BATTLE TRAINING: AVAILABLE!**

"Thank goodness," Naruto muttered, "I can actually get a bit of training in."

**CHOOSE YOUR OPPONENT:**

**KAKASHI HATAKE (CANON W/ SHARINGAN)**

**KIBA INUZUKA (CANON)**

**NEJI HYUUGA (CANON)**

**SABAKU NO GAARA (CANON)**

**SASUKE UCHIHA (CANON)**

**SPECIAL OPPONENTS (LOCKED)**

"What the hell does canon mean?" Naruto wondered aloud. "Umm… Sasuke?"

Naruto gasped as his world faded into darkness, the sound of waterfalls rushing to his ears.

XxX

Naruto blinked as he was in a different place entirely. He stood on top of a statue as he saw a figure a good distance away, colored by black and white.

**GOALS:**

**DEFEAT OPPONENT!**

**KEEP HIM ALIVE!**

**GO!**

The words disappeared and color returned to the world as Naruto adjusted his footing on top of the statue. He could hear rushing water as he saw a familiar raven-haired boy wearing a typical blue shirt with an Uchiha fan on it stand on top of a statue that stood opposite from the blond's statue.

"Sasuke!" Naruto unconsciously shouted. What in the world was going on?

The boy who Naruto mentioned stopped his walking before slowly turning around. When he did, Naruto couldn't help but let loose a gasp.

Sasuke's left eye was colored yellow with a black sclera with black flame markings coming rising to it, his entire face apathetic.

Naruto instantly tried to reach for his crossbow and swore when he realized it wasn't there. He forgot it at home! Home…

Sasuke was supposed to be home. What was he doing here at the Valley of the End?

"I fought this fight before," Naruto muttered to himself in awe, "Did the Game take me here to fight Sasuke?"

"So, it's you," Sasuke spoke in an apathetic, yet condescending and angry, tone. "Hopeless little knucklehead. She sent you, huh?" He continued, referring to his pink haired teammate.

"I already told Sakura that it's over, so just leave me alone."

Naruto just continued to look at him with a 'WTF?' look. "You're… leaving the village?" The blond said in a fake shocked tone while trying to see if he had his hidden blade vambraces; he didn't. It seemed like he had anything that was on him when he went to the training ground, all of which seemed to be sealed in a scroll in his pocket.

"Heheheheh," Sasuke darkly chuckled with a smirk on his face, "Look at you, just bumbling around like the dobe you are. You didn't realize that as you came after me? Idiot."

Naruto growled. Even now, Sasuke could piss him off. Inconspicuously, he palmed a kunai as he planned a little surprise for the asshole he called his friend before he died.

"Sasuke!" he roared as he leapt with all his might at Sasuke who didn't even look interested. He tackled the traitorous teen along onto the statue and quickly raised the kunai Sasuke just noticed with slightly widened eyes, yet with continued annoyed apathy.

With his right hand, Naruto thrust the point of his kunai straight at Sasuke's left eye, which Sasuke stopped with slight alarm. He had clutched Naruto's arm in instinct and held it there with little exertion keep the blade away from his face. Sasuke's face twisted into a cruel smirk.

"You really think you stand a chance against me?" he chuckled, "Remember how you thought that last time we fought? You were wrong because unlike then, I have SO MUCH POWER!" He shouted as he disarmed Naruto with a flick of his wrist and began to grab Naruto's collar like before and pushed his way up, though with less ease than he had the first time around.

Naruto growled once more and didn't bother trying to get Sasuke to loosen his grip; instead, he reached for another kunai to slit Sasuke's wrist. But before he could do so, Sasuke's smirk grew even more as he dropped Naruto.

In the blink of an eye –

"HAAA!" Sasuke yelled as he punched Naruto's stomach with all of his power. Naruto gasped and blood flew out of his mouth as he was sent flying into the waterfall.

Naruto nearly vomited as he skid on the water and sunk into its depths at the other end.

'_Fucking curse… hey, Kyuubi, Sage, you there?_' he thought as he swum to the surface.

"_**We are here, young one.**_"

**What he said. **Kyuubi spoke.

'_Great, because apparently, I'm fighting the same person who killed me before!'_

"_**Hmm… it appears when you chose that option to fight my descendant, you were sent to fight him at this battle. I'm guessing that this 'Game' sent you to fight him in another dimension. However, what it said before; I believe those are the rules of this engagement.**_'

'_So, what?_' Naruto thought as he rose to the surface and gasped for air on his hands and knees on the surface. '_I've gotta beat him?_'

**Hooray, there isn't empty space between your ears.** Kyuubi sarcastically said.

Ignoring the fox, Naruto pulled out the scroll in his pocket, which was, thankfully, waterproof. He had a slightly feral grin when he applied chakra to the seal containing the Kyuseishuken.

"Thank you, Battle Training," Naruto smirked. He rushed off to the statue of Madara and jumped up while swinging his blade at Uchiha who no longer had his curse active.

Instead of rushing at him like he had the first time, Sasuke merely smirked as he ran through a familiar set of handseals. "**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!**"

A blazing ball of fire shot at Naruto who had completely forgotten: jumping meant that one couldn't evade and with his sword in his hands, he had no way of making handsigns!

"_**Need not worry, Naruto,**_" spoke the Sennin, "_**You remember the move I told you about, Shinra Tensei? If you wish to survive this momentary encounter, channel chakra into the blade and try concentrate on a repelling effect for the chakra. Think its name and once you have, force the chakra out!**_"

By the time, the fireball had nearly reached Naruto, so he made his choice.

"Shinra Tensei!" Naruto shouted as he slashed the sword at monstrous fireball.

When the fireball grew nearer, it suddenly was smothered and pushed against an invisible shield, flames still going as Naruto flew at Sasuke, whose smirk disappeared. Quickly, the Uchiha jumped from Madara's fingers to his head as Naruto and his attack rushed right through where Sasuke had been standing; Naruto landed on what was left of Madara's hand.

The blond smirked slightly. "What's wrong, Sasuke? Lost your nerve?"

The raven-haired avenger stared in slight confusion, "When did you start to wield a sword?"

"Come down here and I'll show you!" Naruto shouted, deciding to be preemptive and rush at Sasuke.

As he was about to reach Sasuke, inwardly, he charged more chakra to his sword and thought, '_Shinra Tensei!'_

However, Sasuke merely smirked and thrust his foot hard into Naruto's stomach, sending him back off the statue and down the falls.

Naruto coughed as he flew down, Sasuke diving through the air after him. '_Why didn't it work?_'

"_**Damn, I forgot to mention it had a recharge time,**_" the Sage swore. "_**Given your current strength, I'd say you would need a minute's time at least to be able to use it. But if you go for a large area of effect, it will take longer.**_"

'_Well, that cuts out one trump card,_' Naruto thought right as he flipped facedown so he was diving down and quickly sheathed his sword and formed handsigns out of Sasuke's sight.

"**Fuuton: Reppusho!**" Naruto blew a massive gust of wind out of his hands to the side and was pushed away off course. Instead of crashing face first into the rocky shore, the blond landed in the once tranquil water of the Valley of the End.

SPLASH!

Sasuke held chakra in his feet as he slid down the side of the cliff to slow himself down before landing on the ground. The raven-haired boy smirked as he saw his rival and best friend swim to the surface.

More handsigns –

"**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!**"

Five balls of fire soared inches above the water towards Naruto, slightly steaming the lake's surface. Quickly drawing shuriken, Sasuke prepared to throw the implements.

Naruto's had already climbed over the surface. When he looked up, -

"Holy shit!" he yelped as he jumped over the offending balls of fire. Sasuke let an impassive look settle on his face as he decided to merely focus on the fighting; if Naruto had hidden moves like that one he used to stop his fireball, he would need to try a bit harder to beat the loser… not that Naruto could compare. With that in mind, Sasuke reared back slightly and threw the shuriken in his hands at the blond.

Naruto covered his face before realizing the shuriken didn't hit him; they veered away. As he was about to use a jutsu, the blond found that he couldn't move his hands as he was constricted by wire, the end of which was held in Sasuke's mouth.

"Fu -!" Was all Naruto got out before he was swung and slammed against the cliff face behind Sasuke. The traitorous Uchiha stared focused on the location of the body of his rival as he formed a sequence of handsigns.

Just to make he was dead, Sasuke put a bit more chakra into his hopefully last attack. "**Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!**" A massive burst of flames burned from Sasuke's mouth as it would from a dragon's muzzle and sizzled the water around him. However, one large stream of fire surged down the wire and within seconds, struck a screaming blond who rolled around, trying to put out the flames.

"See, dobe?" Sasuke spoke as he let go of the wire to see if Naruto was still alive, "I didn't need my headband at all."

A charred body lay before him and stared him in the face as Sasuke reached a hand out to check his –

POOF!

The Shadow Clone disappeared and Sasuke heard a voice behind him, making him turn in shock, as he saw the alive blond hold his hands in a last seal as Naruto shouted, "**SUITON: MIZURAPPA!**"

Since Naruto was so used to using large amounts of chakra to draw water from the air, it was no surprise when, instead of a pressurized blast of water surging towards Sasuke, a massive tidal wave of water from the lake (**A/N: 15 ft**) raged towards the boy who stared slightly in shock. The aforementioned raven-haired boy's face twisted slightly in rage as he jumped as high as he could and ran up the cliff face to the nearest waterfall crag to avoid the surging wave that aimed to drown him.

"When did you make the clone?" Sasuke growled in anger, "When did you - … of course, you did it underwater," he said in realization of the presence of the clone. "But when did you switch with it?"

"When you threw me into the wall, I was able to wiggle out slightly from your wires and do the Replacement," Naruto taunted as he stood on the lake, below his rival. "Guess you didn't kill me and break these bonds, huh? That's what you think makes you strong, right? Breaking bonds?"

"That's right," Sasuke said quietly, "if I sever these ties, these bonds that connect me, I'll be able to be stronger."

"Then what am I, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, growing angry at his friend's ignorance. "Your best friend? Is that why you're trying to kill me most of all?"

"You're right; if I kill you, I'll be able to be much stronger; strong enough to beat _him_," Sasuke spoke, ending with a hiss.

"I beat Gaara, damnit!" Naruto roared, "How do you think I was able to do that? I _swore _to myself and you that I would protect Sakura, even if I lost my life!"

Sasuke stood on the crag in silence for a moment before his eyes turned red. "We never did finish, did we?" he said, referring to the fight on the rooftop in Naruto's original life. He began to form handsigns, "Sakura isn't here anymore; let's see who's _really_ strongest!"

Chirping birds.

Naruto held out his right hand, angry that his friend made him resort to this; though, he was curious if his technique had gotten stronger.

A perfectly spherical maelstrom of chakra hummed in his right hand.

Naruto grinned. '_Yes! That chakra control training really did pay off! I can do it with one hand now!_'

Naruto, who was at that point ambidextrous from his training with Shao Jun, drew a kunai as he charged towards Sasuke. The aforementioned avenger dove off the cliff and landed on the water, Chidori in hand causing a massive splash as he sped towards Naruto.

As Sasuke ran blindingly fast towards Naruto, he widened his eyes when he saw the kunai in Naruto's hand. If his rival could actually stay strong with that odd spherical jutsu of his, he'd be in prime position to strike Sasuke with the blade and win the conflict. Sasuke gritted his teeth as he raced down the water, growing even faster and Chidori getting larger as a series of black tattoos spread across his body.

There was no way the blond could overpower him now.

Naruto's eyes widened one second before impact. Tattoos –

One thought went through Sasuke's mind: '_Pierce it!_' he thought furiously. His hand shifted –

Clash.

Screams reverberated throughout the valley.

XxX

Inside Naruto's mind, the Sage winced. That was DEFINITELY not good for one's arm. "Kurama, it appears you will have to help the boy with this battle. I fear with his arm in this condition, he may lose this battle."

The fox, who was stuck inside a massive cage while the Sage stood outside, watching the proceedings, chuckled. "**It appears true that he cannot do anything without me, hmm? Very well, he shall taste my power…**" Red leaked out along with a malicious smirk from Kurama, "**… and my rage.**"

The Sage frowned. "Merely heal him, Kurama. I don't believe destroying his comrade would be what he wants." The Sage stomped on the red liquid leaking out from the cage and pulled a black liquid from it. "Is this what being sealed has turned you into, Kurama? I had thought you were better than this," the Sage said disappointedly.

The fox growled before suddenly chuckling while his container's senses grew clouded with red.

"**Dear Sennin…**" Kurama said with a malicious grin, "**do you think he has no anger of his own?**"

XxX

Sasuke, in part, grinned in malice though it receded as his Curse Seal did. Instead, he stared in shock at bloodiness of his hand and shoulder. Naruto had somehow managed, in the split second before his blue ball had been beaten by his Chidori, to stab his right shoulder with the kunai he had.

Naruto screamed in pain once. Sasuke had defeated his Rasengan, unlike before. And also, unlike before, the Chidori went on to pierce right through his hand and go lower as it split his arm in half, stopping at his forearm. Sasuke's hand stuck out of his forearm, covered in bloody plasma, in a knife hand motion.

'_FO__**X!**__' _Naruto mentally screamed, thoughts getting cloudy as he already drew on its power.

Naruto's irises shifted from their normal blue to a wrathful red. His teeth grew pointed as his whiskers darkened instantly as the power he claimed flowed through his system like a wildfire.

Sasuke roared as black marks covered his body as he charged Chidori in his hand once more to pull out his hand unimpeded from the now raging blond. Something flashed in the corner of his Sharingan eye: a red claw.

Naruto's left hand, surrounded by the shroud of the fox cloak of one tail, slammed into Sasuke's face and sent him straight down into the depths of the lake they stood on. Naruto let out an inhuman roar of anger, pain, and rage. Naruto's right arm hung uselessly.

The chakra claw that hung around Naruto's arm grew dense and opaque as the burning red chakra pulled Naruto's arm together. Muscles, bones, cells, and fibers all stitched together in a matter of seconds. The cloak's chakra decreased as the blonde's breathing grew less labored.

"**Sasuke!**" Naruto growled. First he stabbed him twice in the chest with Chidori… but now…!

"**SASUKE!**" Naruto roared in primal fury, his mind not controlled by the Kyuubi but by his own anger, his own hate towards his rival.

XxX

Inside of Naruto's mind, a presence hidden by the Kyuubi, unseen by both the Sennin and Naruto, smirked. '_That's right, unleash our anger, unleash our rage! No one will stand in our way!_' it thought as it grew slightly in size.

XxX

The Uchiha coughed up water as he swam up to the surface and got up. His bones had likely been nearly broken by that punch! Naruto was…

'_Naruto…!_' Sasuke thought, his own hatred growing as he grit his teeth at the sight of the blond, red chakra swirling around him. '_What makes you so special?_'

Flashes of Itachi flew through his mind.

"_Naruto is the prize that the Akatsuki seek… and we will have him."_

"_Cling to life, little brother…"_

"_You don't have enough hate Sasuke and you know what?"_

"_You never will."_

Sasuke's eyes flashed with anger rage, face contorting in anger as a third tomoe appeared in his eyes. "NARUTO!" he roared, curse mark spreading across his body once more.

The blond turned his head toward him in a flash, arm healed, Sasuke dimly noted, as the Curse Seal spread all over his body, changing it…

Sasuke's body grayed in color as his lips took a violet hue. His eyes changed to Sharingan eyes with black sclera. His hair grew longer and changed from a jet black to a near-black-purplish color. Sasuke's two incisors grew longer as if like fangs and his nails grew longer as Naruto's had, as if like claws.

Naruto's face contorted in rage once more as he let out a chakra infused roar at Sasuke. The now smirking abomination was barely affected, ignoring it as if the roar was merely an annoying fly.

Sasuke's eyes opened and he chuckled ominously as he stood across from him on the water.

"Hmhmhmhm… do you think you're _special_, Naruto?"

Naruto growled as he chose to retain the one tailed cloak that he managed to keep some degree of control over; after all, he'd need his power and his focus to defeat Sasuke this time. "**All I know is that I'm strong enough to beat you.**"

Sasuke's chuckling intensified into full-blown manic laughter. When it died down, Sasuke viciously smirked at him, "Oh really? You may be strong… but in this form, with this power…!" Sasuke shook his head while he opened and closed his fists.

"I don't think I'm gonna lose."

Instead of going crazy like he had before, Naruto merely drew back his fist and threw an extending fist of chakra with a roar at Sasuke.

Yet now, with his improved power in speed, it was a mere triviality to sidestep the blow that rocketed into the cliff face. Naruto gave him a fanged smirk as from the boiling red chakra came another red arm that charged after Sasuke, trying to grab him. With slightly widened eyes at Naruto's chakra's capability, Sasuke continued to dodge the arm and several pursuing arms with the aid of his Sharingan.

"Enough of this!" Sasuke snarled. Hands blurring, Sasuke jumped in the air as he cupped a hand to his mouth and aimed at Naruto.

'_**Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!**_' A massive serpentine dragon made of fire erupted from his mouth and charged at Naruto with a scream.

Naruto smirked and slapped his unoccupied left hand against the water, his impeccable strength improvising a wall of water. The dragon, though powerful, fizzed away at contact with the water, superheating the water into a steam-like mist. Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

'_Where could he be?_' he thought to himself.

Sasuke suddenly heard a rough voice to the side of him, Naruto's movements having been covered by the mist.

"**Fuuton: Saiko Nagare!**" Sasuke whirled around and witnessed Naruto charging towards him, glowing with not just the red chakra but chakra in the air around him. Naruto raised his right claw and slashed at Sasuke who just barely dodged the claw that would've likely torn his face from his body. Yet he didn't dodge the other thing: a blast of blunt yet slicing wind that blasted him back towards the statues in a painful gale of wind.

Sasuke was nearly crushed into Madara's foot yet –

RRRIP!

Two hand-like wings burst out of his shoulders and flapped against the wind to slow him down. He hit the foot and created a crater but he lived.

Naruto leapt to where he had stood last time in their clash, ready to end it. Sasuke stood up with murder in his eyes. His clothes and skin were covered in cuts; he had two crossing cuts on his left cheek.

Naruto winced as he finally felt the drain of the wind amid the haze of his mind. '_**Damn, I can last maybe a few minutes with it… but I still need it to finish him!**_ _**Guess this may be my last attack…**_'

"_**We shall keep fighting the influence of the wind, Naruto. But it would be best if you finished the fight soon. You may be in control of more of Kyuubi's power but you have limits as to how much and how long you can control it.**_" The Sage informed him.

Sasuke got up from his kneeling position. The two looked in each other's eyes, memories reflected in each. Naruto's held memories of the good times he'd had with his friends; Sasuke's held the bitter anger he had and would continue to hold for long.

Handsigns.

Sasuke poured all of his chakra into the ball of lightning that now screamed with the flapping of wings of the hawk that he was and the raven that he would hunt. Black lightning jolted madly in his clawed hand.

Naruto held his right hand out, violet chakra spiraling into his palm. '_**It's not ENOUGH!**_' he thought violently, reminiscing to the first time the clash happened.

Suddenly, the wind that cut at everything, even the rocks around him, grew closer to his hand. It blew violently around the ball of great power and was suddenly sucked into the maelstrom of youki and chakra.

Naruto's Rasengan _changed_.

It grew larger, almost half the size of his head now. Blades of wind circled around the ball and stormed inside the maelstrom of power in his hand. The Rasengan grew… green at its core and faded into a bright violet and red color throughout the ball. And now, it hummed with slightly bell-like screech.

Naruto turned his head to Sasuke, a mad determination filling his eyes as he stared at his opponent.

"**Fuuton…**" he murmured but didn't continue.

They saw it in each other's eyes:

He had to know.

Who was stronger.

Who would be victorious.

Who would TRIUMPH.

They leapt at each other simultaneously, waterfall drowning out any sound. Sasuke flapped at Naruto and the latter readied his arm. Sasuke and Naruto thrust their jutsu…

"**RASENGAN!**"

"**CHIDORI!**"

Clash.

XxX

No matter how strong Sasuke made his blade of lightning, it bowed in submission to the power of Naruto's tempest; one fueled with the currently most powerful demon's strength would DESTROY any bolt of its kind.

The winds screamed in triumph.

Sasuke screamed in agony.

Naruto's strange jutsu destroyed his and hit his arm slightly before veering for his chest. The ball CUT and GROUND his chest so many times…

It was only SHEER insane luck that he instinctively put his wings up to defend his torso after his Chidori was defeated.

Still, that jutsu just tore right through them…

Sasuke went flying towards the statue but was stopped by a clone of Naruto who he'd created in an exhausted haze.

An angry, red, bleeding spiral surrounded and filled with infinitesimally small cuts that was prominent on Sasuke's chest, proof of his loss.

Naruto quickly checked his pulse, "Alive… good." Naruto collapsed with a groan. '_That… took almost all my chakra…_'

Sasuke's curse faded away as the barely conscious Uchiha feebly glared at him with his eyes, fading from their characteristic red. "I… can't… feel… my arm… I'll… kill you… Naruto…" he growled at him, his left arm useless and barely able to speak as his chest was too damaged for him to properly move. His shaking right hand fumbled for a kunai as he coughed up a copious amount of blood before –

GRIP!

Naruto's clone shakily held back Sasuke's only good hand with its left hand and the Shadow Clone panted as it was the only one Naruto could form at the moment.

"Don't," Naruto uttered, "Now sleep." With that, Naruto's clone chopped Sasuke on the neck and the boy passed out. The clone popped immediately after.

Naruto sighed as he waited for a moment. A dark speck fell from the waterfall, landing on the water and scaring the hell out of Naruto.

"Yo, Naruto!" Kakashi said nonchalantly, though he was shocked at their states. "How… are you?"

"Fuck, my arm is messed up," Naruto cursed, "But other than that… I'm… good, sensei. And I stopped Sasuke," Naruto breathed heavily with a grin.

Suddenly, world turned black and white. An empty look filled Kakashi's eye.

"**Battle Training: Sasuke: COMPLETE!**" he intoned with a thumbs up, shocking Naruto once more.

"The hell?" Asked a shocked Naruto before the world faded to black.

XxX

Naruto blinked.

He stood outside the training grounds once more in the same position and, from the looks of the dark sky, time PROBABLY hadn't passed, either; he just felt that in his gut. In other words, he'd fought a long, hard battle with Sasuke… all in the blink of an eye.

'_The thought of that is scary,_' Naruto thought to himself, '_Someone able to manipulate time like that? I'd probably lose to them in a fight._'

"_**There actually are jutsu that do such. I was the first practioner; I called them Jikan-Kuukan Jutsu.**_" The Sage chimed in. "_**I'm pretty sure that this… Hiraishin? Hiraishin, yes; I'm pretty sure it was one, based on what I've seen from Kurama's memories.**_"

'_Damn, my old man could do that?_' Naruto wondered, greatly impressed. '_Man, it's gonna be hard as hell to surpass all those Hokage…_'

"_**In time, Naruto.**_"

**CONGRATULATIONS!**

"I fucking deserve to be congratulated," mumbled Naruto, "I kicked his ass this time so why not?"

**BATTLE TRAINING: SASUKE (CANON): VALLEY OF THE END: COMPLETE!**

**GOAL: DEFEAT OPPONENT: COMPLETE!**

**ADDITIONAL GOAL: KEEP HIM ALIVE: COMPLETE!**

**ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: 'Rookie Gladiator!'**

**ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: 'VoTE Success: Version 2!'**

**EXPERIENCE GAINED: 550! BONUS EXPERIENCE: 200!**

"I suppose it was an additional goal," Naruto pondered, "I DID promise Sakura I'd bring him back."

**Boss Fight Completed! 'Sasuke (Canon): Valley of the End: Simulation!' Kenjutsu: +2! Ninjutsu: +4! Taijutsu: +2! Wind Affinity: +3! Wind Control: +5! Youki Control: +1%! Agility: +2! Achievement Unlocked: 'Repeating History!' Experience Gained: 522! **

**Level Up! Level 12! Stats Gained: **

**Strength: +14!**

**Perception: +13!**

**Endurance: +14!**

**Chakra: +14!**

**Charisma: +15!**

**Intelligence: +13!**

**Agility: +15!**

**Luck: +15!**

**Bonus: Kenjutsu: +7!**

**Bonus: Ninjutsu: +10!**

**Bonus: Taijutsu: +8!**

**Bonus: Speech: +6!**

**Bonus: Chakra Sensing: +6!**

**Bonus: Stealth: +5!**

**Bonus: Youki Control: +3%!**

**You may select one (1) trait:**

**Power of Youth**

**Balance On The Brink**

**Reprogram**

**Built Against Blood**

**Taijutsu Freak**

**Ninjutsu Nut**

**Genjutsu Fiend**

**Kenjutsu Fanatic**

**Kenpachi-Style**

**Eye of the Eagle: Level 1**

"I honestly have no idea what ANY of these are…" Naruto muttered. "It's almost the same as last time with the same ones, except for those two…" Naruto stared at the list.

"Who in the hell is Kenpachi?"

XxX

In another world, a man with an eye patch, spiked bells in his hair, and a jagged, serrated katana in hand sneezed as he continued to gleefully fight with an equally ecstatic bald man who wielded a spear.

XxX

**Sounds like the name of a fearsome warrior… I'd take it, **commented Kyuubi.

"_**This Eye of the Eagle sounds odd… is it a doujutsu? And a level to it? Does that mean it can be upgraded?**_"

"Ugh… MORE doujutsu? Those things pop up more than weeds. Pass," the blond complained and refused.

**Might as well go the way of this 'Kenpachi', then. It sounds like with that level attached, for this Eye to be of any use, we'd have to invest too much time to make it worthwhile and improve that trait.**

"That… was actually helpful; thank you, fox," Naruto incredulously thanked.

**Plus, if this Kenpachi **_**is**_** a powerful fighter, perhaps you won't be such a pathetic fleshbag**, the Kyuubi couldn't help but jab.

"Fuck you… I beat Sasuke…" Naruto grumbled.

**Still with my power.**

"Ugh… fine! I choose Kenpachi-Style!" Naruto shouted.

Instantly, Naruto began to glow as the words exploded. Chakra burst forth from him as if a wildfire of power that couldn't be stopped. Naruto screamed slightly as his chakra coils GREW. His body began to produce even more chakra than he had before and soon, chakra began to pour forth from him in a nigh constant, pressuring aura of dark blue. His arms bulged slightly and his sword glowed momentarily.

"Holy shit…" Naruto breathed a moment after he finally stopped screaming as he looked at his hands, wisps of blue flickering from them near constantly while waves of chakra were emitted from his body. "I think my chakra's increased a TON… if that's even possible. But damn," the blond Jinchuuriki swore, holding his stomach, "that MOTHERFUCKING HURT LIKE HELL!" he shouted.

**Brat, what the hell happened? Your chakra coils grew a LOT bigger and that's especially saying something since even I made your chakra coils bigger by just being here.**

"_**I think that this Kenpachi… he's someone with a great amount of chakra. I believe you may have even more than your current leader, the old man.**_**"**

**Based on the amount he seems to be letting out**, Kyuubi considered thoughtfully, **yeah, his power is definitely greater than his father's, even more than that old monkey's, and perhaps even as much as in the monkey's prime. Yet, it's still not enough to compare to that wooden prick's power. **

'_Oh shit… I just realized,_' Naruto thought with growing horror, '_my control is gonna be shot to SHIT with this boost in power…_'

**Well, that, and you're gonna be a beacon of power to even people whose sensing skills are equivalent to a blind man's sight.**

'_Fuck… and if the Hyuuga uses their Byakugan –_'

**Yeah, they're gonna likely go blind.**

'_MOTHERFUCKER! How the hell does this Kenpachi guy deal with this shit?_'

**There is a bright side, brat,** Kyuubi growled, **with all this chakra shrouding you and at your disposal, it is likely the Sharingan can't copy your jutsu since all it'll be able to see is a bright blue surrounding and cloaking you.**

'_So my jutsu won't be copied by it?_'

**It's likely. And it's possible with all the ambient chakra around you, the Sharingan won't be able to predict your actions as easily.**

'_Sweet!_' Naruto thought gleefully. '_Will that be the same for all doujutsus?_'

**Idiot; we don't know enough about all doujutsu there may be, so I don't know.** The fox snapped.

"_**Calm down, both of you**_." The Sage finally said. "_**I believe that this Game has not given us all there is to know yet.**_"

**Chakra: +(4)!**

**Chakra: +5!**

**Kenjutsu: +5!**

**Chakra Control: -85%!**

**Strength: +5!**

**Endurance: +(2)!**

**Battle Lust: 2.5X!**

"Damn it all…" Naruto swore, "I'm even more of a juggernaut now but all that hard work I put into training my control is shot to hell… and what's this about battle lust?"

"_**Do not complain, child,**_" the Sage sternly said, "_**Your control can be trained again. All it takes is dedication. Though, I would definitely recommend you use those Shadow clones you employ to work at it.**_"

"Yes, Sennin-sama," Naruto meekly replied.

Suddenly, a trio of halos of light appeared in front of Naruto.

**Choose your eyewear.**

"What?" Naruto blinked. "Does this guy have vision problems?"

"_**Just humor the game, Naruto. Perhaps this Kenpachi has eyewear for a reason.**_"

The first was an eyepatch that looked _kickass_… but the main problem that Naruto had was that it had _mouths covering it_. What the fuck? What kind of freak _was_ this Kenpachi? Not to mention it would hinder his vision.

The second was a set of dark goggles that looked less threatening. Tinted black, they could be easily put on his head, but… why have goggles when he had his headband already on his head?

"I think I'll pass on both. What's the third?" Naruto grumbled, with a curious undertone.

Then Naruto saw them.

A pair of lightly orange-tinted wraparound shades **(A/N: Think Zangetsu's shades, except orange)**.

"I'LL FUCKING TAKE IT!" Naruto cried with delight as he snatched away the orange shades.

XxX

In another world, a mad scientist stopped his experimental musings when a pair of orange shades like that Kenpachi's eyepatch disappeared in a flash of light.

"Hmm…" Mayuri contemplated, "Interesting."

XxX

They instantly appeared on his eyes.

**Item Received: Orange 'Kenpachi' Shades! Equipable! To unequip, go to Pause Menu and ask for Menu! Then, ask for Inventory!**

The words faded away and Naruto was left alone.

"Hey, wait a minute…" Naruto realized. His chakra wasn't running wild! "Do these shades surpress my chakra? 'Cause there was a storm of it just a second ago!"

"_**Hmm… before you gained this 'Kenpachi-Style', you had this much chakra. I would say that compared to after your body had more chakra, you have a fourth of that. So, that Kenpachi upgrade increased your chakra output by four times its original amount.**_"

"Sweet!" Naruto cried out.

**Idiot; that means that unless you want your puny strength to go rampant, you will have to wear those horrifically orange shades everywhere,** pointed out Kurama with a slightly mean grin.

"Aww…" the blond immediately groaned. "Oh well; can't be helped."

**UNLOCKED! BATTLE TRAINING FIGHT(S)!**

**SASUKE UCHIHA: CANON (SHIPPUDEN)**

"Shippuden?" Naruto asked curiously, "Arrgh, more stuff… why can't this be easy?"

**Who fucks with someone easily?** The Kyuubi barked with malevolent laughter at the blond, **Surely not an enemy?**

Naruto sulked before saying, "Alright, I can kick Sasuke's ass again. Bring it on!"

**UNUSABLE! NO SHIPPUDEN AVATAR AVAILABLE!**

"I don't even understand…" Naruto groaned, "but at this point, I don't give a fuck. I'm leaving." The blond turned around and prepared to walk away.

**Brat, are you forgetting? Your control over your power is horrific! If you even attempted any of your jutsu, they would all likely fail!**

'_So what do I do?_' asked a paling Naruto.

"_**I would recommend taking off those glasses and creating as many of these Shadow Clones as you can to start training,**_" recommended the Sage, "_**though, take care to make sure they disperse periodically; after all, no warrior is useful if brain dead, correct?**_"

"Fine." Naruto removed the glasses and an explosion of power erupted from his body, casting a blue aura around his person. "Whoa…" breathed Naruto, "this feels AMAZING."

"_**Concentrate.**_"

Naruto shook his head, '_Right,_' before making a cross handsign.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

A massive explosion of smoke covered the area as instead of the three hundred clones Naruto was aiming for, the blond created a good thousand clones instead.

"READY TO GO, BOSS!" they all chorused.

Naruto shook his head. Man, he had a LOT more chakra now. "All right!" he said with a fist pump, "I want all of you to practice tree walking and water walking! If you can do ANY of those, disperse immediately! If water walking is done, practice the jutsu that we know! When everyone is done, disperse periodically so I don't go crazy!"

"YOSH!" came the unified shout as they charged towards the training grounds.

Naruto smiled as his vision was once again tinted by orange by his new shades.

Suddenly, a wave of fatigue hit him. Having made all those clones and _then_ putting on the shades after showed him how sealed his power was.

Naruto shrugged off the fatigue and ran home to sleep.

XxX The Next Morning… XxX

"Oi, dobe, where'd you get those new shades?" Sasuke groggily called, referring for his nickname for Naruto. The blond ignored him in favor of lying on the grass. Kakashi was likely to be late if past history was an indicator.

Plus, after fighting the fake Sasuke last night, well, Naruto felt a bit smug after beating him; he was Sasuke's _superior_ now! And it felt _great!_

Instead of rising to bait, Naruto merely yawned while noticing a tired Sakura in the grass beside himself. Sasuke was leaning against a nearby tree.

"Morning, Sakura-chan... teme," Naruto murmured. He decided to focus on the events of last night.

Based on how his chakra felt and from the memories of the clones, he could now walk up trees once more and do the basic Kawarimi and his version of Henge; all of his other jutsu were still out of his reach, though, since he hadn't finished mastering water walking, yet.

Honestly, only for this week would he do this 'spam-clones-up-the-wazzoo' training method… it hurt his head too much to do a thousand clones every night.

Plus, many trees had holes in them, so he didn't want to have to explain why there were so many.

With that topic run dry, Naruto turned his mind to the conclusion of the battle. What had happened? Did the wind from Saiko Nagare infuse itself in his Rasengan?

'_Pervy Sage did say Rasengan was the highest level of shape manipulation or something,_' Naruto thought, trying to remember all he could from his past, '_Did I add nature to it? Is that why it was so much stronger?_'

Meaning, would his Rasengan be much stronger if he imbued wind or fire into it? Probably; though, he'd need to relearn the Rasengan if he was ever to find out, though.

'_Can I imbue it with water as well?_' That was his last thought before he dozed off.

It seemed like seconds later, but Naruto instinctively thrust a fist straight up from his position. Kakashi leaned back to avoid the hit.

"Maa maa, jumpy, aren't you?"

Naruto groggily rubbed his eyes and noticed that light was actually out. "Kakashi-sensei…? Wow, I was asleep _that _long?"

"Yeah, you were out of it," came the voice of Sasuke, standing to right of Sakura and Kakashi, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just… my control's been pretty fucked up lately," Naruto admitted while rubbing his eyes, ignoring Sakura's glower at his cursing, "so I was up last night training my ass off, pushing my 'shadowy' training method to the max. It kinda gave me a headache this morning along with making me kinda tired."

Kakashi ignored Sakura and Sasuke's questioning stares that garnered no response from Naruto, prompting them to turn to Kakashi, "How many?" he asked, referring to the amount of clones made.

Naruto chuckled, though there wasn't an ounce of sincerity in it, "A thousand."

That tidbit got Kakashi to actually be caught off guard. A thousand? How much chakra did the boy even have?

"I'm guessing you had a little bit of help from your…?" the cycloptic ninja trailed off, hinting at the Nine-Tailed Fox.

"Nope, it was all me," Naruto said with a slightly smug grin.

"You really are a juggernaut, aren't you?" Kakashi thought aloud, hiding the shock he felt, Sakura and Sasuke noticing his usage of juggernaut; while Sasuke relaxed as he knew he was talking about the amount of chakra Naruto had, Sakura was slightly in shock. Her sensei, a _jonin_ was referring to her teammate as a juggernaut?

'_Wow, I knew Naruto was strong after seeing him fight, but Kakashi calling him that? That almost proves it!_'

'_**We'll get stronger than him, shannaro!**_' a voice cried out in her head, making her unconsciously nod and fill with determination.

"Uzumaki Naruto: Juggernaut! Yeah, that'd be a cool nickname; guess so," the Jinchuuriki chattered.

"I'm guessing that because you have so much chakra, you had to retrain it last night?" Kakashi inquired. "How much did you get back?"

"Only tree walking and a couple of basic jutsu," Naruto spoke with a grimace, "once I can get water walking down, I might be able to get all my jutsu back."

"Alright then," Kakashi stated, inspecting his students, "Since you all have your own personal weaknesses, we'll be training for a while before we take a mission." Kakashi quickly made a few handsigns before two copies of himself formed from the earth.

"Sakura: we'll be training your stamina," said the first clone, garnering a determined grimace out of her, "and it's gonna be old-school, hardcore, make-you-shit-your-pants style so, let's get to it!" the clone said a little too cheerfully.

Sakura walked on with her head high as she followed the clone. Naruto clapped his hands together and muttered a few words that Kakashi couldn't catch.

"What was that, Naruto?"

"I said, may Rikudo have mercy on her soul," garnering a chuckle from both the Sage within himself and the jonin before him.

"Sasuke, you'll come with me," said the second clone, "since you already seem to have chakra control and a few jutsu down, we're gonna work on genjutsu! Especially the ones that make you cry like a little baby! C'mon, my cute student!" cheered the clone.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and grunted as he followed the second clone off into the woods to learn the art Itachi so excelled at.

"As for you, Naruto?" the original stated as he looked in the blond's direction, who was paling at the thought of being left alone with his apparently sadistic teacher, "since your control is still rather screwed up, you're gonna make another thousand clones and train again like last night. We need you in top fighting condition!" the silver haired man said with an insincere upside down U-shaped eye smile. "Though, I'm not sure you can produce even a thousand with how much chakra you have…"

Naruto shook his head. He would have to show his teacher just how unpredictable he was.

"Why are you taking off those crazy shades?" commented Kakashi, "And where did you –"

By that time, Naruto had already withdrawn and stored away the orange wraparound shades. Then, he chakra came free.

Waves of power rolled off him as a veritable cloak of chakra surrounded his form. "What were you saying Kakashi?" Naruto spoke, none too humbly, "Let's see if I can!"

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

Naruto pulled out the amount he normally used for three hundred clones and instead of a thousand like he had the previous night, twelve hundred clones appeared.

Kakashi stood speechless. '_If he has this kind of potential… he could probably beat _anybody_!_'

"All of you!" Naruto commanded, "Get started on water walking! If you're done, practice our jutsu!"

"YOSH!" came the united cry of an army of clones. They all rushed to the nearest bodies of water in all the training grounds.

Naruto turned to Kakashi who stood in a serious, contemplative manner. "So, what do we do while the clone brigade gets to work?" the blond asked, looking as if he hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Since you have them working on chakra control and ninjutsu," Kakashi began, pulling out a sealing scroll and cutting his finger with a kunai, "I figure we can work on your kenjutsu."

POOF!

A normal, shiny katana came out from the scroll Kakashi held. "I'm more used to kodachis and wakizashis," he said with a shrug, "but this'll do."

Naruto had already begun to unseal Kyuseishu-ken with a drop of his own blood.

POOF!

Naruto held his blade in one hand in a stance that asked for a challenge. "Bring it on, sensei."

XxX

Sakura panted on the ground as she had collapsed from running up and down the tree, held to it by nothing but chakra. When Kakashi introduced the chakra control exercise to her almost immediately, she was a little taken aback, but nonetheless ready to prove to her sensei that she would be an excellent kunoichi.

Though, _now_, she felt as though she'd run a mile in a minute, exhausted from pushing her body and her chakra that hard. Her heart raced from exertion.

The silver-haired jonin peered down at the pinkette, his face hidden by the orange book he adored.

"And how many was that, Sakura?"

"I…" she let out, "Twenty times, sensei."

Kakashi _tsked_ slightly. "Now, Sakura, you know that this is an exercise developed to build control _and _chakra reserves, right? But how can that happen if you don't put more effort into it?"

Sakura said nothing, only sent a death-glare at him for insinuating that what she had just done _wasn't hard as shit!_

"Why, I bet your blonde friend, what was her name," Kakashi purposely pondered aloud, "Ino, yes, I bet she could have done this forty times already."

Sakura gnashed her teeth in anger. '_Shinobi rule number twenty-five: don't show emotion. And that also means don't let your emotions control – fuck it!'_ she thought abruptly as she stood up.

She quickly ran back up the tree as quick as she could, hoping the short amount of time her feet spent on the trunk would minimize how much chakra she expended.

The Kakashi clone chuckled. '_Well, it seems as if EVERYONE is like you, Obito._'

XxX

A gigantic inferno descended from the sky towards one boy in a forest.

Meanwhile, Sasuke snorted as he saw his veritable end fall to the earth. He raised his hands up in a handsign, "**Kai!**"

As he had practiced before, Sasuke immediately stopped his chakra before surging it immediately after.

The fireball that was about to purge him and the landscape fizzled out as the nearing wisps heat Sasuke felt dissipated.

"Good, you can release genjutsu," came a lazy drawl from his sensei, now standing before him, "but can you escape them in time for you to keep fighting?"

Sasuke merely shrugged before sending chakra to his eyes once more. It would probably be unlikely that Kakashi wouldn't notice it once more, having copied the first genjutsu that Kakashi had used. The **Jigoku Koka** (Descending Hell) would actually be pretty useful if he faked using a fire jutsu beforehand. Though, it would be tough using it, since the probability that someone would believe that, Uchiha or not, he could produce a fire jutsu of such magnitude.

Kakashi held his hands in his last handsign. Sasuke blinked and his perception was… distorted. While a normal person would see Kakashi, with Sasuke's Sharingan, one would see a blue silhouette of a man running around to flank him while the visible Kakashi tried to flank him from the other direction. With a pulse of chakra to his eyes, the vision was shattered instantly and Sasuke quickly kicked his leg where he knew Kakashi would be.

SMACK!

"I guess I was right," Kakashi drawled as he held back his student's ferocious kick with most infuriating of ease. "You have unlocked your Sharingan; you just haven't revealed it to your teammates."

Sasuke rolled his now red eyes, which incidentally held two tomoe in each eye. "Why reveal a trump card?"

"True," Kakashi chuckled, "but I expect you to tell your teammates; if not for the trust of a team, then as payment for taking two of my genjutsu."

"Hey, you flaunt 'em, you'll get 'em taken."

"Ass… since you have your Sharingan as an unfair advantage, perhaps we should _up_ your training."

Sasuke groaned.

XxX

A layer of sweat covered Naruto as he held his katana, moving to the already scarred tree for another set of slashes. Deep criss-crosses dug into the bark as Kakashi giggled to his book once more.

Since Naruto sadly had to agree with Kakashi after his spar – which he had lost quite easily in – part of Naruto's failures was being unable to _properly_ wield the blade. Namely, he lacked technique as he had only recently begun to wield Kyuseishuken.

SCHLACK! SCHLACK!

Naruto cursed as Kakashi peered over his book. "Better, but still not perfect. You should still be proud though, Naruto; usually, it takes years to master the blade. Even with my Sharingan, it took a total of three years to learn how to be able to defeat opponents with it."

"Yeah," Naruto panted, "but still, I've been hacking at these trees for hours now! I've got to be getting better _somehow_!"

"Well, try slashing the air once more."

Naruto nodded before diagonally slashing in opposite directions before finishing up with a horizontal cut and a downward cleave.

"See, that was much faster _and _you aren't wildly flailing your blade like before," Kakashi pointed out. "Part of Kenjutsu is technique and muscle memory; when your control problem has been fixed, you can probably focus those thousand clones on practicing Kenjutsu since you can get both from using your Kage Bunshin."

Naruto grinned. "Awesome. Now, given that it's almost lunchtime, I should probably start dispelling them."

"Remember to be careful," Kakashi lazily drawled as he lifted his book up to his sight once more, "we don't need a vegetable on this team."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto ignored with a roll of his eyes, "you make it sound like I haven't done this before." The blond then stabbed his blade in the earth before cupping his hands to his mouth.

"HEY! START DISPELLING SLOWLY!"

Quickly, Naruto turned to Kakashi with a slight frown, "If I do pass out, at least take me home or to the hospital or something."

Kakashi rolled his eyes, "Maa maa, Naruto, you'll be fine."

Naruto didn't respond; instead, he got in a meditative position to calm down and clear his mind of any distractions. Slowly, the clones dispelled. Stores of information and control began to fill his mind as he tried to handle it all.

After five minutes of systematic dispelling of forty clones per minute at even intervals, Naruto was still okay. Inside, though, it was getting difficult to maintain control of the flow of information.

'_Hey, fox, Sage, could you give me a hand?_' Naruto asked silently.

**Weak brat…**

"_**We'll be here to help you process this swarm of information… I must say, this is the most action I've been involved with in centuries!**_" the Sage replied happily.

'_What, it's like fighting people?_'

"_**No, it's more like viewing those… what do you call them? 'Movies'?**_"

'_Oh. Alright then._'

Since the pair was helping him, Naruto could afford to take in more information per interval and within another 15 minutes, Naruto had dispelled all his clones. Inside his mind, progress flowed and transferred to his body. Naruto could _see_ the memories flash before his eyes.

He cursed. Water-walking, though some progress was made, was still out of his grasp. His clones _still _sunk despite his prior knowledge of crossing the waters. Perhaps another batch of one thousand was in order?

Before he could grasp his orange shades, Kakashi quickly grabbed his hand. When met with a glare, Kakashi shook his head, "Not now. You've only just gotten the memories _and_ it is lunchtime. Why not eat with your teammates and then continue training, when you're not hungry and as tired?"

Naruto thought about it for a moment before shrugging. Lunch with Sakura and Sasuke _would_ be helpful in making his teamwork with them better in the long run. Besides, Kakashi _was_ training him now. Perhaps with another thousand clones after lunch, he could practice using his blade and walking on water as well.

"Fine," Naruto agreed, "but I pick _and_ we still have training after."

The Copy-Nin met his conditions with a wry grin that was visible though his mask and a wink. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about training. I intend to get my cute, little genin up to my standards before taking any missions; it wouldn't do to get the first team I've ever taken killed, now would it?" he said to an slack-jawed Naruto.

Naruto burst into fake tears before hugging his sensei, "Oh, Kakashi-sensei, where have you been all my life?" he cried out, still rather peeved that in his original life, there hadn't been much training Kakashi gave him.

The aforementioned man chuckled before holding the boy away from him, "Maa, maa, don't get all emotional on me, blondie. Besides, you wouldn't want to have your teammates see you like this?"

Naruto peered past the silver-haired man and found that his teacher was correct in the hinting that his team was approaching. Sakura was walking slowly, almost limping, and drinking from a gourd that hadn't been with her previously with a clone at her side. Her dress was slightly smudged with grass and dirt and the pinkette had a twig or two in her short hair. From Kakashi's right, Sasuke approached, sweaty and panting as a fresh-as-daisies clone of Kakashi giggled at its fake porn.

When the two other students reached Naruto and Kakashi, they both glared at him like he had killed their puppies. "Err… what's the matter?"

The two clones gave a unified giggle before dispelling themselves. Sakura pointed at Kakashi with a fiery anger in her eyes, "He made me run up and down a damn tree forty times! And after I took a break at twenty, he started throwing rocks and weapons at me while I did the rest!"

Sasuke glared at Kakashi with red Sharingan eyes, to Naruto's shock. "He cast genjutsu after genjutsu upon me, even layering them! After I started to use my Sharingan, he made me deactivate it and dispel several genjutsu fast enough to avoid any weapons he threw _and_ him attacking me up close!"

Naruto blinked. "Wow, you've had it rough… he's been at me with kenjutsu training. Nearly killed me in the initial spar, but now he's been making practice tons of swings."

His teammates glared at Kakashi even more for giving what they thought was less life threatening training to Naruto before hearing Naruto's next inquiry.

"Sasuke, you've activated your Sharingan?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke gave a reluctant nod. "When?"

"Remember when I was training with the Duo of Youth? I _had _to activate it to keep up with those two. Plus, it got upgraded after much training," the Uchiha said, referring to his training with Gai while Naruto underwent his Assassin initiation.

"So did you copy any genjutsu?" Naruto asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"He only gave me two: one called the JigokuKoka and the other is what he called the **Kokoni Arazu** **no Jutsu** (False Surroundings Technique)."

"Could you teach them to us?" Sakura asked, finally having removed her mouth from what was identified as a water gourd based on the lack of smell Naruto could detect from it, yet it had a hint of a slightly odd scent.

Sasuke paused before nodding, "I guess so." Naruto had to stop himself from going slack-jawed once more.

Did he _really _change Sasuke that much that his once cold and technique-hungry teammate would actually _give away_ a technique that he had learned/copied? Well, he should've realized that when Sasuke taught him the Gokakyu but it was still rather disconcerting.

Sakura beamed before taking another gulp from her gourd.

"Is that just water, Sakura?" Naruto asked, having snapped out from his Sasuke-induced stupor.

"Actually," Kakashi interjected, "it's an experimental formula drink. I got a supply for training Sakura on commission from Konoha's R&D." He paused before deciding to say more.

"It was Takigakure's famous, hidden Hero's Water. However, this was meant not to act like a super-stimulant like the Hero's Water and more like a soldier pill; it actually does contain some of the formula that is in soldier pills that the Akimichi produce for the village. They take a portion of the formula in a single soldier pill and mix it up with water; it's so simple, yet ingenious."

"Kakashi-sensei told me that this drink is supposed to help me restore my chakra faster and actually promote the growth of my chakra coils," Sakura continued from where Kakashi left off.

"Why isn't it standard issue, then? Something this useful has to be considered gear for a Konoha shinobi," Sasuke inquired, eyes, now focused on the gourd.

"Well, aside from the fact that it actually is more expensive than military grade soldier pills because it has some additional helpful herbs and chemicals? The formula, also known as **Ikichi** (Lifeblood), is different from soldier pills in two fundamental ways: the first is that this is a secret formula as while its conception was simple, if the idea of it gets out, then Konoha will have much stronger enemies to deal with," Kakashi spoke, "we're just lucky our Counter-Intelligence and Counter-R&D Departments are so good are what they do. And the second is that unlike soldier pills, Ikichi is takes longer to take effect, making it unhelpful in the throes of battle."

"So, this Ikichi was designed by the Akimichi… as a training tool?" Naruto thought aloud.

Kakashi ruffled his hair, "You got it in one, blondie," he drawled, arousing a glare from Naruto for messing with his hair, "I shouldn't even really be telling you about this; but, since Ikichi _was_ recently developed, because Sakura could be a much stronger shinobi with it for her training, _and_ because yours truly has been a shinobi longer than you all have been alive and might've had a favor or two from R&D, I got Sakura to be Experimental Test Number One."

Seeing Sakura's shocked glare at Kakashi at being the first guinea pig for this new formula, Kakashi put up his hands and back-tracked, "Maa, maa, don't worry, I was assured that Ikichi is safe."

"It better be," she growled before hesitantly taking another swig of the now half-empty gourd.

"Geez, leave that with me until you three finish up lunch," the silver-haired man muttered as he swiped away the newly corked gourd.

"Woo! Ramen at Ichiraku's!" Naruto cheered as Sasuke shook his head.

XxX 15 Minutes Later… XxX

"…Fanks fo' fuh food agen, ofi-fan!" Naruto exclaimed, five minutes after arriving, around a mouth full of noodles.

Sasuke whacked him upside the head, "Eat with your mouth empty, Naruto."

Sakura giggled as Naruto half-heartedly glared at Sasuke before digging back into his third bowl of miso ramen. She'd finished about three-quarters of her beef ramen while Sasuke had finished one whole bowl of chicken ramen and was currently eating a sliced tomato.

Sakura paused before she decided to finally finish her ramen to get some nice tea. She quickly grabbed a number of beef pieces and ate each one hungrily, yet with some grace, before downing the rest of the salty, yet tasty broth.

"Next time, I pick," the pinkette spoke to her blond teammate who didn't respond besides what appeared to be a shrug of his shoulders as he chugged the remaining contents of his bowl.

CLACK!

"Ahhh…" Naruto sighed in happiness. "Great as always Teuchi-ojii. Can I have some tea to wash it down?"

The old ramen cook chuckled before turning back to the stove, "Sure, Naruto, a nice hot cup of tea for you and your friend."

"So," Sasuke spoke up, "we should use this time to try to figure out any teamwork we're gonna have or at least be more familiar with each other."

"Well," Naruto said carefully as the light from outside glinted off his orange shades, "my control is kinda fucked up right now. It'll be a little bit before I can use any of my jutsu… but when I have them, like I told Kakashi, I'm a pretty versatile guy."

"You know words like 'versatile'?" Sasuke jabbed.

"Shut up, teme," Naruto growled, "Why do you think our team's made the way it is?"

"Hmm…" Sakura thought, "Well, we're kinda like the Sannin, right? They led the Third and Second Shinobi Wars against our enemies. Since they all have summons and powerful techniques, they would likely be a demolition and heavy combat team."

"Yeah, they all have that, but they're more than just bulldozers," Naruto pointed out, "Tsunade is an amazing medic and probably the one who healed the majority of wounded personnel, right? So she also is the village's head medic. Plus, she's been out of the village for sometime and hasn't really been found by Konoha; maybe she has contacts around Countries that tell her when shit's gonna go down. That, or she just knows when to get the hell out of wherever she may be."

"Huh," Sasuke commented, "you know a lot about the Sannin."

"Well, when you idolize the Yondaime, you tend to research the one who taught him and he's teammates, not to mention the bad one."

"Speaking of Jiraiya-sama," Teuchi piped up from inside the kitchen, "he visits here a lot. From what I've heard and can tell, he's also a master spy."

"That means he probably has an extensive information network that fronts Konoha the majority of its knowledge of other villages' actions," Sasuke added in low tones.

Naruto suddenly had a headache. He could only assume he was like Jiraiya since the man had taught him and given him the Toad Contract like he did his father; how the hell was he supposed to live up to each legend's power and position? For fuck's sake, his dad was the _Yondaime_! And though he didn't take him seriously sometimes, ero-sennin _was_ a powerful shinobi. How the hell was he supposed to be stronger than someone about as tough as Orochimaru, not mention have as many talents?

"How the hell did they do it? You know, become so amazing?" Naruto asked wearily.

"They were taught by Lord Sandaime and each has been a ninja longer than all of us have been alive _combined_, Naruto," Sakura pointed out, "Give it some time. We can't be as strong as they were in a day."

The blonde jinchuuriki sent a genuine smile her way for her reassurance, "Thanks, Sakura-chan."

The pinkette smiled as she took a sip of the tea that had been just placed in front of her. Sasuke quickly popped the last slice of tomato he'd been eating all along into his mouth before washing it down with a hot sip of tea. The blond took his cup and sipped at it, too.

SLURP!

XxX

When they returned to the training ground, Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. Naruto growled.

"I don't believe this!" he shouted at no one, "He tells us to get lunch and he's not here when we get back!" He pounded his fist into his hand, "I swear, if he says that he got lost on the 'road of life' when he gets back, I'll –"

"You'll what?" came a familiar, lazy voice behind the three.

Naruto and Sakura jumped in sudden shock while Sasuke turned his head back to his sensei. "I think what Naruto was trying to say was that he'd be very angry if you were late once more, sensei," the raven-haired boy said with a smirk.

"Screw you both," Naruto muttered with an embarrassed look on his face.

"With this little scare comes the next lesson I wish to teach you three," Kakashi announced, "Tracking."

All three blinked at his proclamation. Tracking? But they weren't really suited for that, except Naruto with his Kage Bunshin; yet, none of the three thought that was what he was talking about.

"You see, when one becomes an Oinin or an ANBU, they have to know about tracking for completing missions; mostly, they include searching for targets and eliminating them. But in order to take out enemies, which you will likely have to do, you have to find them first," Kakashi explained, "Allow me to introduce a friend of mine."

With that, Kakashi bit his thumb; Naruto's eyes widened and he subtly gestured at Sasuke to remember what would come next. Imperceptibly, Sasuke sent chakra to his eyes and watched the oncoming handsigns.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu** (Summoning Technique)**!**" Kakashi uttered as he pushed his palm to the earth, making a seal emanate from his hand while a poof of smoke came out.

A small brown pug sat there with its droopy eyes, Konoha headband, and blue vest. "Yo," it said, with a wave of its paw.

"THAT DOG TALKED!" Sakura shouted in shock as she pointed at the aforementioned being.

"Uh, yeah, it's a nin-dog," Naruto pointed out, "Most summoned creatures can talk, after all and so can most nin-dogs."

"So your contract is for Hounds?" Sasuke asked as he appraised the dog with his red eyes.

"Correct," Kakashi stated as he stood by the little canine, "This is Pakkun. Pakkun, meet Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. I want your help in teaching them about tracking."

Pakkun snorted, "I'm not sure your team may be cut out for it. They don't appear to have much in the line tracking since the main clans for it are the Hyuuga, Aburame, and Inuzuka."

"Oh, on the contrary; I think they have potential. But since they don't exactly have the best natural talent, what we can have them do is learn how to use chakra for enhancing the senses," Kakashi mentioned.

"Oh! Sensei, by the way, I think I may be a chakra sensor!" Naruto exclaimed, remembering the stats he had. "Can I learn that as well?"

Kakashi blinked. "Well, what do you know?" Pakkun chuckled, "Maybe you can be a good hunter, huh?"

"I'm afraid I don't know how to sense chakra per se," Kakashi said as he recovered from his slight shock, "but I know a couple of chakra sensors who may be able to offer you some help in that area. But for now, we'll practice tracking my way."

XxX

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all sat in a meditative position with their eyes closed upon the three log posts of their training ground. Except for Naruto, all of them were told to practice detecting things through enhanced perception; namely, Kakashi instructed them to channel chakra to his students' sensory orifices. Sasuke channeled to his ears, and Sakura to her nose.

However, Naruto was to train in another way. Rather than train a particular sense, he was to train _usage_ of his senses in a battle. Eventually, as Kakashi had in mind, that too would be restricted, allowing him to develop a sixth sense and reflexes.

Of course, Naruto didn't know _how _Kakashi would train him.

Poor kid.

"Ow! Fuck, sensei, stop throwing rocks at me!" Naruto shouted out, unknowing of Kakashi's location as his eyes were covered.

SMACK!

"OWW!" Naruto roared as a rock flew into his nuts, dropping him into his knees.

"Now, now, Naruto, what have I told you about bad language?" chided Kakashi, his voice thrown so Naruto couldn't detect him through hearing.

"How about I come down there and shove your book right up your –" The following is censored for anatomic graphicness.

Another rock hit the back of his head. "Fu–" He began to shout before covering his mouth; Naruto did _not _want another rock to the gonads.

"Good. Remember what I said: smell and listen to what's approaching you," called his silver-haired sensei.

Naruto did his best to calm himself and focused on smelling. Listening to nature. It was all rather quiet…

Wait. What was that small whistling? And it was coming his way, towards the front of his face?

Naruto quickly moved his head to the side to dodge. The whistling flew to the side and Naruto didn't feel the pain of a rock hitting his nose. Excited, Naruto tried to listen more carefully and noticed that the rock that had just flown past him had a noticeable earthy smell that he could likely pick out. Two more whistles entered his ears: one coming directly at his head and another that would pass him, merely intending to distract him. Naruto smirked and ducked his head. He could smell the two rocks going past him.

Slowly, but steadily, Naruto could pick out the sounds of many rocks coming at him and found that he could dodge all of them. However, he had to be careful and realize that he'd have to use both senses of smell and hearing in tandem. That had been proven when he could hear two whistles and yet smell three projectiles. He quickly ducked the one heading for his face quickly jumped over the one aimed for his balls; yet, as he did, a rock hit his throat.

As Naruto gagged when he hit the grass, Kakashi lectured, "Always trust your nose and check for another rock hidden in the shadow. The **Kage Shuriken no Jutsu **(Shadow Shuriken Technique) can mask the sound of a rock or shuriken by the other."

Eventually, after Naruto dodged a total of fifteen rocks in one go, Kakashi whipped off the band covering his eyes and opened them to a thumbs up and an eye-smile from Kakashi.

"Good job, my cute little genin," he drawled as he annoyingly decided to muss up Naruto's already messy spikes.

Naruto merely gave him a glare that said, 'I will murder you in your sleep,' layered with killing intent.

Kakashi merely continued to muss up his hair with that eye of his still smiling. '_Bastard,'_ thought Naruto.

XxX

For the next week, they continued to train as hard as they could, almost nonstop throughout the day. Finally, Naruto could once again walk upon water and use a majority of jutsu again; having an increasing amount of clones created and over fifteen thousand clones at work in total on chakra control really helped.

Finally, finally, finally, he could do the Rasengan again! He'd almost given up on ever being able to do his signature technique in the middle of the seventh night, but one clone got it right! Albeit, it was still slightly shaky, but once it was dispelled, the other clones managed to finally improve it to the point where a one-handed Rasengan was possible.

He'd also gone back and did some of the other chakra control exercises he'd come up with long ago, like Kawarimiing on the water and trying to chain it without any handsigns: unfortunately, the latter was still out of his grasp for a number of times beyond five while he accomplished the former. In spite of that, having combined his improved sword skills with the exercises he'd been doing all week along with the Samurai Art known as Iaido that Kakashi had started to teach him on the fifth day of the week helped Naruto develop his sword skills and help him begin to develop, in secret, a speedy attack maneuver in conjunction with his sealless Kawarimi's. Utilizing his ability to Kawarimi seallessly, Naruto would get in position to be struck, replace immediately with a log, and, while his opponent was disoriented, draw his sword at great speeds and quickly kill them.

Naruto named it **Chikan Sutoraiku** (Replacement Strike). Potentially, with enough replaceable objects, Naruto's veritable army of Kage Bunshin could kill an opposing group of enemies in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, Naruto was not yet skilled enough to draw his blade fast enough or with enough precision to fatally wound, if not outright kill someone nor could Naruto chain his new maneuver to attack more than one enemy.

Even more unfortunately, the Genjutsu Sasuke promised to teach him were _still_ very shaky. Naruto could barely cast the illusions, much less create them; it seemed higher levels of chakra control would be needed, no matter how much he disliked genjutsu.

Sakura, however, seemed to excel at using the illusions. The Jigoku Koka was used merely as a distraction for thrown weapons or explosives. The Kokoni Arazu, however, was her most used one. When she practiced using Genjutsu, she always kept one around herself, as a sort of constant illusion. Only, instead of changing the opponent's entire perception of the area around them, she merely changed the enemy's perception of _her _in the area. Instead of appearing as though she were in a volcano or some other location, Sakura employed it subtly enough that she could make herself seem a meter away from her actual location.

In terms of chakra capacity, Sakura had _far_ outstripped her original self. The Ikichi had done as intended and actually raised her levels of chakra to a level that a seasoned Genin or even new Chunin had. And she still had another week of usage to go! However, there were some side effects…

XxX Flashback XxX

_Sakura quickly ran across the water and back without breaking a sweat at Kakashi's behest. "When the hell are you gonna move me up to the higher level stuff, sensei?"_

"_When I say you can, Sakura," Kakashi drawled, purposely trying to irritate her._

_Inside, however, Kakashi remained cautious. Over the past few days of her usage of Ikichi, she'd been acting more… aggressive than the files of her said she was. It was likely that she was simply angry as the silver-haired man did have that effect on many people, but Kakashi didn't get anywhere in life without at least trying to feed some of the semblances of paranoia he did have._

_Normally, his words would be a way to tell her that she should continue the water-walking exercise until her reserves or control were better. Yet this time…_

"_No!" she shouted angrily, "That is _it_! I am tired of you or anyone else thinking I can't do this shit, shannaro! Let me just show you how much better I _am_!" Her hands blurred into motion that wouldn't normally be seen by the eye but clear to Kakashi's eyes. Instantly, she opened her mouth and launched a massive fireball from it at Kakashi, whose eyes widened slightly._

'She knows fire jutsu of that level? No…'_ Kakashi formed a handsign and stopped his chakra before letting it flow once more._

"_**Kai**__ (Release)." _

_The fireball dissipated, now showing its true roots as a genjutsu employed by Sakura who was charging straight at him with a kunai. Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Sakura was smart; she wouldn't just charge at him without trying to even the odds in her favor._

'She's likely cast the Kokoni Arazu on herself,'_ Kakashi decided as he quickly blurred into motion just as Sakura brought up the kunai she was wielding._

'Kai!'_ The Sakura in front of him shifted to the left, as he predicted, to attack him from his 'blind spot.' Yet, it did her no good as he raised his hand to disarm her and flip her._

_THUNK!_

_Kakashi just barely managed to pivot his body so that the kunai aimed for his heart hit the ground just behind him. His lone, visible eye widened as he noticed two things._

_First, the kunai behind him was wrapped with an explosive tag._

_Second, the arm he thought he grabbed gave no resistance to Kakashi's hand, allowing it to merely be passed though._

_It was a __**Bunshin**__ (Clone)._

_Which meant Sakura was elsewhere. _

_Which meant that unless he got the fuck out of his current spot, he would likely be blown to hell._

_Fuck._

_BOOM!_

_Sakura began to cackle slightly from the bush she was hiding in as she saw her sensei engulfed by the explosion. He so deserved it for being an ass all the time!_

'Wait,'_ thought Sakura, finally having a clear head as she realized her previous thoughts, '_I'm happy that I just killed sensei? What's _wrong_ with me?' _she thought with growing horror._

_She heard the bushes shake rustle behind herself. Sakura turned her head and saw her slightly cautious looking yet still alive sensei leaning against a tree looking none the worse for wear. _

"_Sensei," Sakura burst out, tears threatening to leak from her eys, "what's _wrong _with me?"_

XxX Flashback End XxX

While Kakashi had to commend Sakura for her display of ability and excellent grasp of the genjutsu she had learned not too long ago, the fit of rage she displayed was… slightly unnatural.

Kakashi decided to cancel the training session with Sakura to take her, at Sakura's request, to her the flower shop of her friend, Ino Yamanaka. He noted, with none too little satisfaction, that Asuma had been rather lax in the blonde's training and that Sakura had outstripped her friend in terms of ability.

Perhaps Sakura _would_ pass the coming Chunin Exams with flying colors.

Upon seeing the pinkette's state, Ino immediately called her father out from the flower shop, Inoichi Yamanaka, the former Head of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Department and current Head of Konoha's Intelligence Division, was also a psychiatrist during his times of being off duty.

According to the results from his psychoanalytic analysis, Sakura was stable and sane – yet, she had a dormant split personality that held most of her aggressiveness. The Ikichi had, apparently, reinforced this split personality and the aggressiveness it held. While Sakura's mental strength and ability kept it in check, bits and pieces of the personality's rage leaked into her own. In any other person, there would only be a slight increase in battle lust – gladly, this wasn't entirely the case with Sakura, as her temper, which _could_ be held in check, could be managed.

With that in mind, Kakashi continued to train her and push her harder and harder so that she could fulfill her desire of becoming stronger. Physically, her strength was much improved, though still not as great as her male teammates – as expected.

On the other hand, Sasuke had developed a great resistance to Genjutsu and weak ones barely affect him. Strong ones, though, would still require Sasuke to dispel them via Genjutsu Kai and the stronger ones would perhaps need Sasuke to use his Sharingan to break free.

Either way, the Uchiha wouldn't fall prey to Genjutsu for much longer. Respectively, his own ability in casting Genjutsu actually grew quite rapidly as he could cast Genjutsu almost at the level Sakura could.

In terms of his Taijutsu, Sasuke was trained much harder with the use of heavier weights. Despite being bogged down, his speed grew slightly but his reflexes and senses grew greatly. Utilizing chakra-enhanced hearing with his Sharingan really made it easier to both dispel illusions and detect people. Both he and Sakura made great strides in those areas.

Still, his greatest development in Taijutsu was his increased reflexes; Kakashi could proudly say that the boy could react on time to attacks from Kakashi coming at seventy percent of the silver-haired jonin's full speed, with his weights off, of course.

As the boy had copied some of Kakashi's jutsu, it had been up to the silver-haired jonin to make sure that the Uchiha didn't mistakenly use them or utilize them i.e. make sure Sasuke didn't kill himself using them. As a result of so much training in ninjutsu and genjutsu, the boy's control had grown and his chakra reserves had risen as well to the point he could use C-rank fire jutsu without breaking a sweat and could eventually use the higher tier fire jutsu his clan had.

Among the jutsu the boy had copied included the **Shunshin** (Body Flicker), which his cousin Shisui was quite famous for utilizing, **Doton: Shinju Zanshu **(Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation), and the dangerous jutsu, **Raiton: Kairo Shadanki*** (Lightning Release: Circuit Breaker).

It was fine that Sasuke had copied all three; yet, they were _all _potentially lethal to him, especially the last one, since misusing the element of lightning could fry his nerves. As a result, Kakashi found himself teaching the upstart Uchiha how to control the lightning element.

Perhaps there would be another Copy-Nin?

Either way, Sasuke watched enraptured as the jonin demonstrated manipulating the rare (or, at least rare in **Hi no Kuni**) element of lightning. Immediately, he started focusing on that as his own grasp of fire was pretty well along; incidentally, through a chakra paper test Kakashi had conducted, the jonin found out that Sasuke's primary affinity was not fire, but lightning.

That meant another heir to the mantle of Chidori.

Not yet, anyway. He was still _just_ in his manipulation of lightning that he was able to do Kairo Shadanki; he was still too inexperienced to use the weaker version of the **Raikiri **(Lightning Cutter).

Still, Kakashi was proud of his students. They'd gone so far in only a week. But now…

Well, since the man's funds were running low, he had to eat, didn't he?

That meant it was time to put his genin to work.

XxX

Naruto yawned as he and his team returned to the Mission Assignment Office after completing their fourth, shitty D-rank mission of the day. After just finishing a week of training, Team Seven liked having a change of pace.

Initially, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were happy that their sensei thought that after such difficult training, they could be trusted to actually do missions (rather, Sasuke and Sakura did as Naruto knew how shitty the missions usually were).

Of course, they were oblivious to Kakashi's ulterior motives… but yes; the man did trust them not to fuck up D-rank missions.

Naruto knew exactly what to expect when Iruka stated that it was time for their first mission; Sakura and Sasuke's faces, however, were priceless when they were told to paint the tall wall of a building.

Almost violently, they started to slam paint across the bare walls of the windowless, tall apartment building before Naruto started to chuckle at the ingenious idea he'd had.

XxX Flashback XxX

"_Hey guys, wait," Naruto called to his simmering teammates. "I have an idea to make this go faster."_

_Curiously, they turned to the boy._

_Naruto quickly ran through some handsigns and concentrated hard._

_Slowly, the paint in the paint cans began to ripple before rising up. "Suiton: Mizurappa!" The giant globules of paint surged forward and splashed itself against the walls, Naruto's well versed practice of the jutsu showing as he controlled how the paint came down the building._

_Sasuke and Sakura watched in slight awe as the blond singlehandedly finished a job that may have taken hours in a mere minute._

XxX

The other two jobs weren't really as simple. While it was paltry work for Sasuke to Shunshin to the nearby market to buy groceries and get back within an hour, it was a bit difficult taking care of children for a day while the mother had to go to work – not that the three genin minded too much, as while the children were a handful, Team Seven actually had a fun time taking care of kids (especially because they could prank the kids when they fell asleep).

XxX Flashback XxX

"_C'mon Sakura-chaaaan…" Naruto whined, "These kids are boring and annoying… can we pleeeeease prank them?"_

_Sakura had to cover a smile at the puppy dog eyes Naruto employed – they were just so adorable! '_No, can't think that,'_ she thought, furiously shaking her head._

"_They're just kids, Naruto – I don't think it would be nice to hang them from the Hokage Tower by their underwear."_

"_Well, how about –"_

"_No," Sasuke interjected. "I don't care what it is – it's probably crazy. But, still I'm okay with pranking them. Instead, how about a _non-_life threatening prank?"_

"…_Fine," Naruto reluctantly agreed. His eyes lit up once more, "I've got a few _great_ ideas," the blond exclaimed with a maniacal cackle. He looked to Sakura for a moment, "Do you have any qualms about casting Genjutsu on small children?"_

_Sakura and Sasuke shivered at the look in his eyes._

_Those kids were goners._

_XxX Meanwhile… XxX_

_Kakashi stood outside the house, reading Icha-Icha and doing nothing to prevent the possible atrocities about to be committed inside._

_Lazy bastard._

_Yeah._

_XxX Meanwhile… XxX_

_The three kids all shivered in their bed, as if someone was walking on their graves._

_XxX One Hour Later… XxX_

_The three kids – two girls and a boy – woke up from their nap with drowsy eyes and yawns as they rubbed at their faces._

_They quickly lumbered out of bed and realized, with tiny, evil grins, that it was time to continue 'playing' with the babysitters. They rushed to the door and opened it, ready to –_

_**SPLASH!**_

_A trio of water balloons hit the kids and soaked them and the hardwood floors behind them. They shouted and quickly moved their plastered hair away from their eyes so that they could see. The kids went out into the hallway, eyes ablaze with anger, not unlike an angry bull._

_Before they could make a play for revenge, a breeze started to blow throughout the house, draining any vestiges of warmth that remained in the kids' bodies after they got splashed._

_They shivered and shouted before dashing for the door outside, searching for the warm sun. They dashed out quickly and –_

_**SPLAT! **_

_All three slipped on the mud pile outside the door and fell in, covered in the aqueous dirt. Still, it mattered not, as they felt warm, expressing that feeling with a sigh of relief._

_Wait._

_Warmer._

_It was getting warmer._

_Now it was a tad hot._

_Painfully hot. What _was_ that?_

_The kids opened their eyes and screamed at the massive fireball threatening to descend upon them and destroy everything. They screamed in fright as they tried to open the now locked door. Their muddy fists pounded against the door as the fireball neared the earth, screaming for the babysitters. _

_No answer came._

_The children closed their eyes as they anticipated the oncoming inferno._

_It didn't get any hotter._

_A resounding smatter of laughter saturated the area while the fireball grew smaller. _

_The kids opened their eyes in awe at what just happened. Of course, they were rather concerned about their lives and so were caught in what happened next._

_**SPLASH!**_

_A torrent of water crashed into the now angry children courtesy of the now laughing Naruto, giggling Sakura, and smirking Sasuke._

_The kids screamed at them in playful anger as they resisted being taken back to the house to properly take a bath._

XxX Flashback End XxX

It was a good one that Naruto did with a little hard work trying to get enough dirt for a large mud puddle; yet, with a cross handsign, the work grew much quicker as clones made the job much easier.

Now, they were on their way to the Mission Assignment Office for yet another task to complete.

Before they could go inside, Kakashi popped up in front of them, surprising no one, as this had become a habit of the jonin.

Yes, he was that much of an ass to his students.

"Ohayo, my cute little genin!" Kakashi greeted none too enthusiastically. "I've already picked out a mission for you three – a D+ Rank mission!"

"A D+ rank?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow. "Oh goodie, we move up on the chain from really shitty jobs to shitty jobs. Great."

"Now, now, Naruto-kun, would you like to know the difference between a D+ rank mission and a D rank mission?" Kakashi still said with a smiling eye.

"You're gonna tell me either way, so…" Naruto drawled with a 'go on' gesture.

"The difference is that, unlike D rank missions, D+ rank missions, while still domestic to **Konohagakure no Sato **(Hidden Leaf Village), contain a slight amount of risk. That's right, you three get to be put into danger!" Kakashi said cheerfully.

"There's gotta be _some_ other incentive," Sasuke mused, "I know you'd rather us do stuff to piss us off much worse in the name of training – hence, the D ranks. What's the catch?" he asked suspiciously.

"Smart cookie," Kakashi muttered dropping the mostly cheerful act, "These D+ ranks count for three D rank missions under your record – another three missions down till I can start receiving pay again." Sakura shook her head.

"Kakashi-sensei, using your students for your own personal gain? What kind of teacher does that?" she said with a reproachful tone (even if she resigned herself to the fact that he likely didn't give a damn about character).

"A teacher who'd like to keep eating!" Kakashi replied, cheerful like before, "so unless you'd like twenty laps around Konoha, all of you with weights, I'd suggest we get started immediately!" The three paled before snatching the mission scroll and poring over it.

They paled some more.

"Sensei…" Naruto began with a low, scared tone, "does this say what I think it does?"

"Yup!"

"And you want _us_ to do it?" Sakura asked with a slight shiver.

"You betcha!"

"And you don't think we'll, oh I don't know, get _mauled_ doing it?" Sasuke spat sarcastically.

"I have faith in the abilities of you three!" Kakashi spoke with a smoldering fire in his lone eye and an enthusiastic-Gai-like thumbs up.

"…" Came the sound of stunned disbelief from the three.

XxX

The Inuzuka clan was a special kind of family; as in, it was the type of family one would say, "Yeah, _that's_ my family" to describe it.

Run not much differently from the way animals live, these kin of one name had a hierarchy based upon power and power alone. Typically, the top of the chain was run by the Alpha of the Pack, who was generally the strongest, or, as humans referred to it, the Clan Head.

That was Tsume Inuzuka.

Mother of Kiba and the lovely Hana, she was a feral and strong woman who kept clan ideals and the lessons she learned in life and in war govern her heart: always follow the pack. Never leave a packmate behind.

She had not failed to this date.

Here arose the problem. Generally, in the Inuzuka a Pack member's partner was at the same level as the member itself. It was only natural then that the partner of an Alpha only prostrates itself before an Alpha or its own Alpha and no one else; they only listened to or obeyed the strongest and there was none stronger than an Alpha.

Unfortunately for Kuromaru, Tsume had caught a bug and was unable to properly look after him. As she was in bed sick, Tsume could not tend to the needs of her loyal partner.

Therefore, the responsibility fell to someone else.

However, it was impossible for anyone in the Inuzuka Clan to even attempt to take care of Kuromaru. After all, he was an Alpha; why should he, the greatest, the Pack leader defer to those who were already beneath him?

That wasn't to say that he wouldn't make concessions; in times of need or risk, Kuromaru would defer to others _if_ Tsume were indisposed.

But nothing was at risk. Only another Alpha could crack the nut that was Kuromaru and complete the mission: a series of daily D+ rank missions whose objective were to take care of Kuromaru and attend to his scheduled needs. That was to continue until Tsume felt better.

To say that Team Seven was nervous was a slight understatement. While they'd heard of Tora, a horrendous demon cat (who Naruto remembered all too well), Kuromaru would likely do _much _worse than Tora could if they displeased him, especially since Kuromaru was a fully trained, veteran ninken.

"Uh, Kakashi?" Sakura asked hesitantly as they stood outside the gates of the Inuzuka Compound. "How _exactly_ do we get Kuromaru to listen?"

"Well, in order to do this, you need to prove that you are strong. Generally, since the Inuzuka hounds can sense chakra, if you show off the level of your chakra, perhaps you could get him to listen for a moment. That is _if _you impress him," Kakashi said cheekily, "Otherwise, he may scoff insultingly."

Sakura huffed as Naruto considered a plan of action, "Sensei?" Sasuke asked. "How about I just –"

"Sasuke, no matter how much easier you think it will be, we do _not_ put Sharingan genjutsu on your comrades. Plus, it is likely that he'll break it and attack rather than fall prey to a genjutsu," Kakashi sighed.

Sasuke grimaced and looked slightly warily at the door in front of them. Quietly, Naruto took Kakashi aside to talk privately.

"Kakashi-sensei, if all fails," Naruto began quietly, "do you I have your permission to use Kyuubi's power to bring Kuromaru to heel?"

Kakashi hesitated before nodding. It would be a way to control the dog. Besides, Kakashi doubted the dog would even listen to _him_. Maybe. If he showed off his killing intent or even decided to be a hypocrite and Genjutsu Kuromaru into submission.

"Don't get carried away, though, Naruto," Kakashi ordered sternly, "we are Leaf shinobi and we don't want to hurt our comrades. If it gets out of hand, _I'll_ step in." The man grew slightly cheery once more, "Besides, think of this as a lesson on how to intimidate people! It's especially useful for interrogation, after all." Kakashi paused before continuing to speak.

"Take this to heart, Naruto: you can learn something in _any_ situation."

Naruto processed that for a moment before nodding with a grin. "You've got it, sensei." He turned to his teammates before bellowing, "Team, we've got a pooch to screw! So lets get to it!"

Sakura groaned at his inappropriate wording while Sasuke merely shook his head, which was plastered with a smirk, and chuckled slightly, as Kakashi did as well.

Naruto confidently strode into the Inuzuka compound with his teammates and waited outside the Kennel as instructed. Kakashi disappeared at that moment, with the only evidence of his being there a few scattered leaves and a chuckle lost to the wind.

At that moment, the blond Jinchuuriki's other teammates joined him and stood at attention at his sides, almost consciously deferring the role of leader to him.

Time to make the hound heel.

XxX

After two minutes of waiting, a pretty brunette with fang tattoo marks on her cheeks and whose vest showed off a pleasing amount of cleavage opened the door to Kuromaru's sleeping quarters out to the three shinobi.

Out trod a large canine that, with every step, every motion, every bit of appearance, _radiated_ danger.

A large black furred canine that appeared almost like a wolf padded across the grass before him. It's mouth was open as if it were tasting the air, ready to sink its teeth into a juicy meal. An eyepatch covered the place where its right eye would be. It's sole eye, however, was narrowed in suspicion and, yet, violence. It's eye was yellow in its iris, yet black in sclera.

The dog was missing an ear, but based on its size and likely its age, that hadn't stopped it from being an effective fighter.

"Kuromaru-dono," the brunette spoke as she closed the kennel, "these are the people who will be taking care of you while Mother is sick."

Surprisingly, the dog replied, "Thank you, Hana," Kuromaru rasped, "that will be all."

She made no indication of response; merely, she walked away and returned to the veterinary clinic on the other side of the kennel.

"Identify yourselves. Now," the dog demanded.

Naruto quickly turned his head to Sakura and mouthed, 'Do it. Show chakra.'

Sakura nodded at him before introducing herself. "I am Sakura Haruno." Immediately as she did this, she flared her chakra levels to the highest levels she could: almost Chunin level.

The dog tilted its head in interest before shaking it. "You are no Alpha. Next."

The remaining Uchiha spoke up, "I am Sasuke Uchiha." A stronger flare of chakra came forth, almost on the verges of visibility as he'd caught on to what Sakura had just done.

Kuromaru narrowed his eyes at the level of chakra the boy just displayed. High Chunin levels of chakra? Impressive. Yet, not enough power to measure up. Plus… his nose never told him to trust the Uchiha and he wouldn't stop listening to it now.

"You are strong," the canine growled as he pawed slightly at the ground with his sharp nails, "but not yet an Alpha. I shall not submit to you." Tsume's partner turned his lone eye to the last member of Team Seven.

"You are the last. Introduce yourself."

Naruto sighed. He didn't want to have to do this… but unless he wanted the dog to listen, he'd need an overwhelming show of power. Which meant…

"I didn't think it'd come to this," remarked Naruto as he reached his right hand up to his orange wraparound shades, "but very well."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I… will be Hokage."

His hand lowered with the shades in hand.

Immediately, the dog's eye widened greatly. A pillar of spiraling blue chakra exploded forth from the blond, blowing his hair as one did before…

"Yondaime…" Kuromaru murmured almost unconsciously. Sakura and Sasuke were standing their ground at the almost deliberate shock of Naruto's power.

Kuromaru began to feel his legs tremble, as if he wanted to submit to this boy… no, this man, merely because of his awesome power.

"Enough!" snarled the dog with his hackles raised high, "Restrict your power. I recognize you as an Alpha."

Naruto smirked as he put his shades on once more. The pillar of blue chakra dissipated as he did. "Alright then, time for your morning walk."

Sakura and Sasuke almost felt like sweatdropping; such theatrics for a simple walk?

Then again, it _was_ Naruto they were talking about.

"A walk?" repeated Kuromaru. "Hah!" he growled as he turned and leapt towards the nearby forest, "You'd better run."

Naruto grinned as he and the rest of Team Seven followed.

"I like this dog," Naruto chuckled.

**XxX Chapter End XxX**

**Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope you've enjoyed the latest chapter of 'Fishcake Chronicles!' So sorry it's so late, but do you realize how **_**long**_** this was? 69 pages. I dedicate myself and my work for you. I hope you enjoyed what I've written this chapter.**

**You may find that there are still some unmentioned or unexplored things about the game that I haven't gotten to – don't worry. All good things come to those who wait.**

**Now, I'd like to tell you about a poll on my page.**

**Question: Do you want me to write out Naruto's training trip before Shippuden?**

**-Yes**

**-No**

**What this entails is the three years of training sped up quite a bit to talk about what Naruto learned to keep you up to speed so you won't be **_**too**_** surprised when he pulls awesome techniques out of his ass. This is probably gonna be the last poll of Fishcake Chronicles so bear with me one more time.**

**Please vote, ladies and gentlemen; it'll help me make a better fic.**

**Naruto's Stats (Chapter 10):**

**Level 12**

**Stats:**

**Strength: 76 (7) = 129**

**Perception: 71 (3) = 92**

**Endurance: 68 (9) = 129**

**Charisma: 57 (7) = 97**

**Chakra: 59 (9) = 112**

**Intelligence: 117 (3) = 152**

**Agility: 73 (3) = 95**

**Luck: 64 (6) = 102**

**Chakra Sensing: +41 (Base Stat: 18)**

**Speech: +46 (Base Stat: 25)**

**Stealth: +70 (Base Stat: 30)**

**Youki Control: +29% (Base Control: 0%)**

**Ninjutsu Skill: +29 (Base Skill: 15)**

**Taijutsu Skill: +17 (Base Skill: 5)**

**Genjutsu Skill: +10 (Base Skill: 0)**

**Kenjutsu Skill: +21 (Base Skill: 0)**

**Fuuinjutsu Skill: +25 (Base Skill: 15)**

**Wind Affinity: +23 (Base Skill: 15)**

**Wind Control: +10 (Base Control: 0)**

**Base Chakra Control: 15% (Original Chakra Control: 100%) Result: Harder to control chakra.**

**Battle Lust: 2.5X (Original: 1X)****. Mental Effects = POSITIVE.**

**You all may be wondering what some of this shit means; don't worry, I am too. But you know what? I will still write this. This is a journey, a road you and I will walk together (b/c I love Eminem).**

***Raiton: Kairo Shadanki (Lightning Release: Circuit Breaker): C-B Rank Jutsu. Lethal and Non-lethal. Range: Close.**

**The user of this jutsu charges their hand(s) with lightning chakra and, if used carefully, can be used in battle to shut down nerves and paralyze with electricity through a massive shock. If shocked in the right place (e.g. the head), the shock can prove lethal. It is also effective as a Torture jutsu.**

**Similar jutsu: Juuken. Differences: uses Raiton chakra and incapacitation through strong electric shock. No tenketsu sealed. **

**Users: Kakashi Hatake, Sasuke Uchiha**

**Just as a notice, I am trying my HARDEST to make sure Naruto doesn't stray to Godlike in case some people think that with his latest upgrade. I've tried to put some set backs, but nothing really can stop several thousand Kage Bunshin from making a difference. So I hope I don't get hate for that.**

**AND I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T GET TO WAVE ARC JUST YET. I PROMISE I WILL NEXT CHAPTER. BELIEVE IT. I JUST COULDN'T REALLY WRITE ANYMORE. Wave Arc will MAYBE be in two average length parts or a long chapter, just so you know.**

**Anyway, I hope you all have enjoyed this huge doozy of a chapter. Me? I'm gonna **_**enjoy**_** my Spring Break. I hope yours is better with a little bit of Fishcake Chronicles in your life.**

**So, read, review, or Harlem Shake to my chapter; I can't really give a damn since I won't know. Whether you send me reviews with compliments, flames, or constructive criticism doesn't really matter to me. I care about feed back and it would really help. **

**Alright, guess this is it.**

**Heheh, 69. 69 pages.**

**UPDATE: I'm considering making a story that's a drabble of songfics between Naruto and others (broaden horizons). Let me know what you think of the idea. Recommend some songs if you like the idea.**

**King, signing out.**


End file.
